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.
The first time I looked into the eyes of my newborn child, my life was changed forever. An earthshattering feeling of love, humility and responsibility overwhelmed me and I realized at that moment that I had a new job that would last the rest of my life. Fatherhood has brought me more pleasure than I…
Netflix debuted Dave Chappelle’s most recent comedy special on YouTube. Like a lot of his work, 8:46 is brilliant. The title represents the eight minutes and forty-six seconds that former police officer, Derek Chauvin nonchalantly knelt on George Floyd’s neck until Floyd died. My son, Aaron and I listened to the show while we were…
I had my annual physical this past week and I am thrilled to report that I am in good health. My vitals, metabolic panel, PSA and lipids were all clear. This is great news for someone of my advanced age…ha-ha. I’ve had the same doctor for about a decade. He’s a dry guy without much…
George Floyd, an African American from Minneapolis was murdered last week in one of the most despicable displays of police brutality ever recorded. The event spurred protests in almost every major city in the country and a few unfortunate riots. Below are a few of my opinions on the matter: Racism is more prevalent in…
In less than ninety-days the Coronavirus has killed 30 times as many Americans as 9-11 and twice as many as the Vietnam War. The fact that it has only killed 100K people is evidence to some that the threat was overblown, and to others it proves that social distancing protocols have saved thousands, if not…
My son is a star basketball player at Colorado College. He averaged 18 points per game and was an all-conference performer as a sophomore. He was the only Latino on his team and on the all-conference roster. Latino surnames are rare in college basketball and even more rare in the NBA. For decades, Latin America…
When this is all over, I think I will purchase a second home. Although I have considered it, I’ve never pulled the trigger on a second home mostly because I enjoy hotels and resorts. In years past, Kathy and I have considered buying a second home in New York, Hawaii or even Las Vegas, which…
For years, I have campaigned against debt. I have always considered it the biggest enemy to wealth and I still do, but with a caveat. There is still no question that paying down credit card and unsecured debt is almost always the best use of extra cash, but with mortgage interest rates hovering around 3%,…
Speaking of reading….I’m a busy person, and while I love to read books, I don’t always have the time. On a recommendation, I purchased an app called Blinklist, and it’s the best app I’ve stumbled on this year. In a nutshell, Blinklist is CliffsNotes in an app. You can read or listen to a 15-minute…
For those of us who are missing sports, The Last Dance, has become a weekly sanctuary. The ESPN 10-part documentary takes a deep dive into the career of basketball legend, Michael Jordan. Jordan is widely considered the greatest basketball player of all time, but the film is a lot more than a collage of basketball…
Everyone is wondering what will happen in the next few months. Will things get back to normal? Will we still be in quarantine? Will there be a second wave of infection? Literally, nobody knows for sure, but I have my own opinion. I think there will be some breakthroughs in the next month or two…
Prior to the pandemic, NAHREP was building a world class lineup for the fall convention. I was convinced it was going to be our best ever. The goal was to create a program that would be rich with content and provided our members with an experience that would last a lifetime. While a live event…
While I believe the world will begin to normalize over the summer, large gatherings will probably have limitations for a lot longer, perhaps well into next year. This means that virtual events will remain the way people congregate for quite a while, and they probably will become a permanent fixture. However, the novelty of the…
In the face of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the government launched the Paycheck Protection Program, a trillion-dollar effort to incentivize employers to retain their employees during the quarantine and maintain most of their compensation. The program was administered by the Small Business Association (SBA) and provided forgivable loans to eligible employers…
When this is all over, I will have fully replaced vodka martinis for red wine as my drink of choice. Wine is healthier and a lot more sophisticated. I downloaded an app called Vivino that has a feature where you can snap a picture with your phone of the label of a bottle of wine…
The stock market had a great week, at the same time a record six million people filed for unemployment benefits. It doesn’t take a genius to realize there is something incongruent with these two data points. Our economy succeeds when there is a healthy balance of buyers and sellers of goods and services. The cataclysmic…
Here are some things I have been thinking about that will likely be permanent changes to our way of living. Some will cause business and investment opportunities. Baby Boomers will move online. COVID-19 is forcing Boomers to buy everything online from groceries to prescription medications. America’s wealthiest generation, who has been notoriously slow to transition to…
Photo credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com Restaurant entrepreneur and master chef José Andrés is the kind of human being we should all strive to be. His World Central Kitchen is feeding millions of health workers, victims, and families of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yesterday, Oprah Winfrey announced she would donate $1M to his charity. Andrés, who…
While so many people are suffering because of COVID-19, it seems wrong to suggest that anything good will come of this, When things settle down, I think there will be positive outcomes we can point to. The time spent with my immediate family is something I know I will cherish. I am very close to…
I drafted the NAHREP 10 four years ago as a tool for the Hispanic Wealth Project and a guide to NAHREP’s growing membership. The goal was to establish a set of principles that position the Latino community for greater prosperity and an enhanced quality of life. The NAHREP 10 has also provided NAHREP with a set of…
