Gary Acosta is an entrepreneur, public policy advocate, investor, and thought leader passionate about advancing prosperity for Latinos and other underserved communities.

SNL

Congrats to SNL for promoting their first Latina cast member, Melissa Villaseñor from featured player to full cast member. Although we have yet to see Villaseñor play more than a supporting role in any of the skits, I look forward to that changing this season. Meanwhile, SNL is enjoying record ratings due in large part…

Vanity Fair’s “New Establishment”

My favorite magazine is Vanity Fair, and their annual New Establishment issue is my favorite of the year. For decades, Vanity Fair magazine has retained some of the best writers and photographers to report on some of the most interesting and provocative stories in politics, fashion, entertainment, literature, and celebrity culture. In 1994, when the…

Marvel’s Runaways on Hulu

In a recent interview, Marvel Comic’s VP of Sales, David Gabriel, blamed the company’s lagging sales on diversity saying their fans were essentially rejecting female and diverse characters. Mr. Gabriel subsequently recanted his comments and reaffirmed Marvel’s commitment to diversity. The original comment justifiably stirred up some controversy and was contrary to a recent study…

LDC to Launch Public Relations Campaign

The Latino Donor Collaborative, the nation’s leading advocacy group for the new mainstream economy, is working on a major PR campaign to insert factual data and information into the national dialogue as it relates to Latinos and the economy. The campaign will highlight data points such as the Latino GDP, homeownership trends and educational attainment.…

Recovery Efforts are Moving Slowly

As NAHREP prepares to release its formal strategy to provide support for the victims in Mexico City and Puerto Rico, I have received numerous emails and private messages from members expressing their heartache and frustration by the government’s relief efforts. Below is an excerpt from an email I received from one of our members in…

Zillow Study

Last week, Zillow released a study that examined the wealth of Hispanics and African-Americans as compared to Whites. It took a deeper look at the role homeownership plays in those comparisons and referenced data that was recently released by the Federal Reserve’s Board’s Survey of Consumer Finances. The highlights of the study were not surprising.…

Ball Family Reality Show

I think I have already expressed that I am a fan of the Ball family. The patriarch, LaVar, is a fascinating person. Above and beyond everything, he is an unabashed family man and I like that about him. Some people think he is the worst thing in sports and others think he is a genius…