Gary Acosta is an entrepreneur, public policy advocate, investor, and thought leader passionate about advancing prosperity for Latinos and other underserved communities.
Last Friday was the 52nd anniversary of one of the most historic and controversial moments in the history of the Olympics. Most of us are familiar with story of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who after finishing first and third in the 200-meter dash at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, raised their black-gloved fists in…
There is a strong quote from the early 20th Century that illustrates how economics and politics are inseparable. It goes something like this: “The worst illiterate is the political illiterate. He (the political illiterate) doesn’t hear, speak, or participate in political events. He doesn’t know that the cost of life, the price of food, rent,…
In the months prior to L’ATTITUDE 2020, I made it a point to watch a number of virtual events. Some like the Aspen Ideas Festival were well executed, but aimed relatively low in terms of program and production. The major events such as SXSW and Comic-Con offered smaller virtual versions of their massive live events…
L’ATTITUDE is an event platform that I launched three years ago, together with business leader Sol Trujillo, and with the support of the NAHREP leadership team and events staff. This past year, international superstar Emilio Estefan joined me and Sol. Because of their prolific careers in business and entertainment, Sol and Emilio have access to…
Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro was the only Latino presidential candidate in 2020. Further, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has more social media followers and name recognition than Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer combined; AOC was given a mere 90 seconds at the DNC Convention, less time than Sally Yates (who?), and Julián Castro…well, he wasn’t invited…
I had a great conversation this week with Congressman Tony Cárdenas. Tony is from Los Angeles and a former REALTOR®. In fact, he started his career in real estate with Jerry Ascencio, NAHREP’s former national president. Tony recently announced his candidacy for the position of Assistant Speaker of the House, but prior to that he…
NAHREP and the Hispanic Wealth Project, Inc. are finalizing a report on the state of Hispanic wealth in America. The report will be built around an in-depth survey on family wealth taken by several hundred Latino families that includes how their financial position has been impacted by COVID-19. So, what are we hoping to learn…
We all know great musicians have great rhythm, but I believe the concept of rhythm can be applied to a lot of things. Last week, I was watching my son go through a basketball shooting drill with a trainer up in LA. He was making most of his shots, but he didn’t look fluid. His…
On a sad note, I had four friends lose parents last week alone. Three died of COVID-19. It’s unbelievable. I recently made the decision to allow the NAHREP staff to work from home for the remainder of the year. We are lucky because not everyone has a job that can be done from home and…
The country is a mess right now. Political fanatism has ended friendships, broken families and divided this country more than ever. While we may not all agree on how we got here, most of us agree that the country is in big trouble unless we can reverse this unfortunate trend. Some people deal with the…