Gary Acosta is an entrepreneur, public policy advocate, investor, and thought leader passionate about advancing prosperity for Latinos and other underserved communities. As an industry leader, he protects and improves the business environment required to close the wealth gap, particularly via homeownership. Amongst other endeavors, he is Co-Founder & CEO of NAHREP, the country’s leading Hispanic business organization, and Co-Founder of L’ATTITUDE, the preeminent platform for Latino economic empowerment. Acosta is also a general partner of L’ATTITUDE Ventures, the nation’s largest venture capital fund exclusively focused on Latino-led start-ups. Join Gary as he dives into today’s issues through many creative formats.
Last week I attended the 10th annual Housing Renaissance in San Diego. The Housing Renaissance is an off-calendar gathering of about 60 CEOs, government officials, thought leaders, advocates and policy wonks. The event is by invitation only and is co-chaired by former HUD Secretary, Henry Cisneros, and Harvard Professor, Nic Retsinas. NAHREP National President, Leo…
If you really love authentic Mexican food and plan to be in San Diego, you have to try Las Cuatro Milpas on 1857 Logan Avenue in Barrio Logan near the Chicano Park area. The beef tacos and chorizo con huevos are the best I have ever had. I love to go there after long road…
Did you know that one of the most bankable film producers in Hollywood is a Mexican-American by the name of Roberto Orcí? Orcí and his frequent collaboration partner, Alex Kurtzman, recognized their love for filmmaking after watching the Indie-classic, Sex, Lies, and Videotape. The two began writing scripts for television and films including the first…
I’m excited to say that my favorite TV show is back with a new season. The first two seasons of Ray Donovan were some of the best television I have ever seen in my life. Jon Voight gave a master class in acting every week. Steven Bauer from Scarface plays Ray’s fixer associate. Seasons three…
Anthony Scaramucci was relieved of his duties only ten days after assuming the role of White House Communications Director. He was literally walked out of the building. This was a shocking development in a week of internal turmoil for the Trump Administration. It seems likely that Scaramucci’s dismissal was a condition of General John F.…
Rumor is that the Trump Justice Department is looking into new legal challenges to affirmative action in the nation’s most selective colleges. This is not new. There have been multiple lawsuits in the last couple of decades that have challenged the practice. Some states, like California, have passed legislation to eliminate affirmative action from the…
I spent the last few days with housing experts and found there is a consensus that the biggest current challenge to homeownership is housing inventory. While most of the attention regarding homeownership opportunity is typically focused on identifying demand solutions, housing supply is the primary barrier today. The housing crisis of 2008 crippled the homebuilding…
Actress Zoë Saldaña (Guardians of the Galaxy) has launched a media company called BeSe. The company will focus on “cultural storytelling” targeting millennial and Gen Z audiences. A lot has been said about the lack of diversity in Hollywood, but I always say people will resist change until not changing affects their livelihood. The emergence of…
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…
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…
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 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…
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 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…
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 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, 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,…
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…
While I don’t always love George Lopez’s comedy, I am definitely looking forward to his next HBO special, “George Lopez: The Wall, Live from Washington D.C.” in August of this year.
The news was dominated this past week by the release of emails that showed Donald Trump, Jr. participated in at least one meeting with people alleging to represent the Russian government and who represented themselves as supporters of Trump’s campaign for President. The news does not help the credibility of the Administration that has denied…
