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

AAU basketball

I spent the last three weeks watching the best high school basketball players in the country compete in tournaments in SoCal and Las Vegas. I also heard a lot of negative things about the growing influence of AAU basketball. The scuttlebutt is that AAU basketball has replaced high school basketball in terms of its relevance…

SNL fans mourn Spicer resignation

To nobody’s surprise, Sean Spicer resigned last week as WH Press Secretary. The move came on the heels of the appointment of Anthony Scaramucci as WH Communications Director. Spicer was known for his combative temperament and knack for making false, and sometimes outrageous, statements to the press corps. Sean Spicer was not a very good…

Mark Zuckerberg for President

The more I learn about Mark Zuckerberg, the more I like him. Last Sunday, while I was driving home to San Diego from Los Angeles, I decided to listen to Zuckerberg on Facebook live, filmed in his backyard while he was cooking some BBQ for friends. He was talking about everything from Artificial Intelligence (he…

Earl Watson at NAHREP

Earl Watson was honored with the Roberto Clemente Award by UnidosUS last month at their annual convention. Watson, whose mother is Mexican, is the head coach of the Phoenix Suns and the first Latino head coach in NBA history. The evening he was honored, I tweeted about him and mentioned that my son plays for…

Actor Esai Morales

Two years ago, Esai Morales was a speaker at the NAHREP convention in Chicago, courtesy of my friend Raul Espinoza at Bay Equity Home Loans. Esai flew in on a red-eye flight the night before our event because he had also committed to an industry event in LA the evening before. He arrived at the…

The next Jennifer Lopez

The next Latina TV superstar might be from the NAHREP family. NAHREP National Director David Acosta’s talented daughter, Allegra, is starring in a new Marvel Comics series on Hulu this fall. The series is about a group of kids who find out their parents are part of an evil crime organization. Last week the cast…

Hispanic Homeownership Gap

Freddie Mac recently released a study on Hispanic homeownership titled, “Will the Hispanic Homeownership Gap Persist?”. The study aimed to forecast how Hispanic homeownership rates would fare over time. Currently, about 46 percent of Hispanic households are owner-households as compared to 68 percent for non-Hispanic White households. Freddie Mac looked at age, income, educational data…

OJ Simpson

OJ Simpson was granted parole last Thursday and will be released from prison as early as October 1st. This is another amazing development in a seminal story that has captivated public interest for more than two decades. OJ was my hero in the seventies. I even wore number 32 for my middle school athletic teams…

CAA Study on Diversity

CAA, the powerful entertainment agency, released a study last month researching the impact that diverse casting has on the financial performance of films. The results were compelling. “One of the interesting things that the most successful movies share is that they’re broadly appealing to diverse audiences,” said Christy Haubegger, leader of CAA’s multicultural development group,…

John McCain

The political world was stunned with the revelation that John McCain has brain cancer. McCain’s cancer is the same type that took the life of Senator Ted Kennedy in 2009. Doctors successfully removed the tumor last week, but the prognosis seems harsh with a low survival rate. Regardless of your political preferences, Senator McCain has…