Consider These Tips For Teaching Financial Literacy To Gen Z

Forbes

John Hope Bryant, the CEO of nonprofit Operation HOPE, joins Forbes senior writer Jabari Young at the Nasdaq MarketSite to discuss his new book, “Financial Literacy For All.” Additionally, Bryant updates his $130 million initiative with e-commerce platform Shopify to create one million Black-owned businesses by 2030.  0:00 Introduction 2:05 John Hope Bryant On The State Of Economics Worldwide  4:41 Americans Living Paycheck To Paycheck 10:28 John Hope Bryant's book Financial Literacy For All 17:18 How Does One Build Wealth With A Partner? 21:23 Wealth Building No Matter Where You Live 25:10 John Hope Bryant On Being CEO Of Operation HOPE  30:55 Life Economically After The Pandemic 33:06 Interest Rates, Car Buying, And Major Purchases: How Should You Approach Them? 35:52 John Hope Bryant On The U.S.' Political State And Impact On Economy  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00 Silver rights when you hear that phrase, you know who's on the other side of the conversation

00:03 Digging in the world of financial literacy with CEO John O'Brien operation hope CEO right here at the NASDAQ market site

00:12 Hello everyone is Jabari young senior writer here at Forbes and I am joined at the NASDAQ market site with mr

00:20 John O'Brien joined by mr.

00:22 John O'Brien the CEO of operation hope and he is out with a new book financial literacy for all there it is

00:28 Go check that out John. I don't have to say welcome to the NASDAQ because you've been here plenty of times before man

00:33 So welcome back. Well, no, no, I never been on your show. This is very cool. Well, but thank you, man

00:38 I appreciate that when we spoke first to us book. It was doing through a monitor right now

00:42 That's right. I remember I was actually I was in Hawaii. Yeah

00:47 And it's a little weird having you say all these nice things about me

00:51 Normally, you're telling me off when we talk now

00:57 You know, so and I listen to you that I have great great respect on a serious note

01:02 You're doing an incredible incredible service to the nation. Thank you. Notice. I didn't say black people. You're doing a service to the nation

01:11 Thank you. And the fact that you're highlighting

01:13 Excellent excellence. It happens to be black is also a service to the nation and makes black people proud

01:19 but it's not a black editor, you're a great editor who happens to be black and

01:25 Forbes she is rightly so seeing this as an emerging market

01:28 Yeah, and it's not a handout. It's not charity

01:33 It's it's the right thing to do but it also is doing well and doing good, too

01:38 Yeah, it's it's it's good smart business. I'm glad they see it. I'm glad you're leading it. I appreciate that man

01:44 You almost was gonna give me a cry. I'm gonna hold it in man

01:46 But but hey, listen man and financial literacy month definitely gets your opinion right now on that man

01:52 What's the biggest thing you've learned about financially in all financial literacy in all your years?

01:56 Navigating this world John and you got a new book out again financial literacy for all so by the way is a best-seller

02:02 This week. Yeah, congratulations number one and several categories including economics

02:07 Yeah globally on Amazon number one and been that way since it since pre-order

02:14 We're sitting in a moment in history

02:20 But history doesn't feel historic when you're sitting in it just feels like another day, right

02:24 Financial literacy is the civil rights issue of this generation

02:28 We've gone from the streets and protesting

02:31 to the business suites and

02:34 partnering

02:37 The color was in the first reconstruction

02:41 White against black

02:44 With a background of blue

02:48 Oppressing it because back in those days Democrats were actually the problem oppressing

02:54 what was in the red then it became the blue with the was sort of had the

02:59 moral authority in the second reconstruction the civil rights movement and the red

03:05 Really taking up ridiculous positions and getting black and white to fight. Yeah in

03:11 both those situations first reconstruction and second you had a

03:17 Black man who happened to be brilliant and enlightened and black women by the way

03:21 And a white man who was listening smart enough to listen Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass

03:26 dr. King and

03:29 Johnson and ambassador young dr. Dorothy height and

03:33 You could you know add a list of other folks Bobby Kennedy and others who were smart enough to listen

03:40 We have a third reconstruction it was triggered with George Floyd's murder

03:46 2020 to 2030 and

03:48 The largest group of commitments made for social justice through an economic lens to African Americans in the history of this country or any country

03:56 Was 60 to 300 billion depending on how you calculate it

04:01 Dollars of commitments from corporate America not from the government from corporate America

04:05 Which suggests this is a business case and not something else, which I believe it is

04:11 and

04:13 While there's been challenges about how to execute on that and what things actually got run the ground the fact the commitments were made

04:19 says something

04:22 about us about the nation about where we are and

04:25 as you look at that it

04:29 figure and then you look at

04:31 The American where she is as a country right now the largest economy in the world

04:37 the sole superpower in the world and

04:41 Then you say there's never been a superpower there wasn't the economic power in the history of the world

04:46 And then you look at the status of our demographics

04:51 Half of this country is black and brown

04:55 then you have women and

04:57 Then you have poor whites. That's a super majority

05:01 so you can't

05:05 Prosper in a country like this the country can't prosper unless she helps the least of these God's children

05:10 To come up from nothing. That's financial literacy

05:13 And then you look at the the hard day to get out of the emotions of it and the philosophy of it

05:18 70% of the of the largest economy in the world is consumer spending

05:22 70% of Americans are living from paycheck to paycheck

05:25 Now somebody's not black looking at this and listening this I want them to pay attention now

05:31 half of those making a hundred thousand dollars a year are living from paycheck to paycheck a

05:36 quarter of those making

05:39 $250,000 a year are living from paycheck to paycheck you're living in Manhattan the city

05:43 We're in right now, and you make a hundred thousand dollars a year. It feels like thirty nine thousand dollars a year

05:50 Now somebody white listening to this or watching this right now. They'd say man

05:54 That's not a black a man not a Latino a man or an Asian a man or even a white a man

05:59 it's the green a man is just

06:00 Green a man, so I think that

06:02 That all the pieces are just sort of coming together

06:06 Ambassador young would say coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous you always tell me that -

06:12 You always tell me that - under different context

06:16 Yeah, you and I are talking about something else, and I'm trying to I'm trying to get that all that passion of yours - yeah

06:22 Let the moment come alive. Yeah, well, that's why I love talking to you, man

06:26 And again, you know diving in before getting into the book

06:29 Let me just do one quick business update right update on 1 million black businesses and last time we spoke over

06:33 330,000 jobs you've added part of the 130 million commitment. I check my spam folder every day now, so thank you

06:40 Any update on that man are we close to the 400,000 now where we at with that by the way for those who are not?

06:45 aware he says his spam folder because

06:47 I'd asked the founder of Shopify that's right Toby to

06:51 Make a commitment to help me create a million black businesses in America after George Floyd's murder

06:56 and he said send me a proposal so I send him something a PowerPoint and

06:59 Never let the perfect become the death of the good by the way. I didn't wait for a perfect proposal

07:04 I just wrote something up and sent it to him, but I heard nothing in a week and after a week

07:08 I sent him another note and look Toby. Thank you for considering this doesn't seem like you're interested

07:13 I hear did get a response, but thank you, and he said are you talking about I said yes

07:17 And I went looking in my in my computer, and he was in my spam folder 130 million dollar 10-year commitment

07:23 Stuck in my spam folder watch everybody look at your spam folder. Yeah

07:28 We've hit

07:32 415,000 black businesses

07:35 Since George Floyd's murder, so we're on track that was four years in so really a hundred thousand

07:41 We're ahead of where I thought we'd be I thought we would we would sort of come light

07:45 I thought the heat would be would be soft the first few years

07:49 I thought we would do like this a lab have to hustle the last few years

07:52 we're at literally a hundred thousand a year if you look at the

07:55 At the cadence of this which is quite inspiring about our hustle. It says a lot about our ambition and our desire

08:03 To start businesses up until recently it was a record that the big the largest group of business owners in

08:10 America startups were black businesses coming out of the pandemic now

08:13 It's Latinos by the way most the last couple of months. God bless them and

08:16 The large group of all groups I believe are still black women

08:20 So we're not just doing businesses Jabbar. We're doing e-commerce

08:27 Businesses so you can have a restaurant and have an e-restaurant

08:31 Let me rephrase that if you have a restaurant you should have a restaurant any restaurant if you have a barber shop or a hair

08:38 salon you should have an

08:41 Barber shop or a hair salon and so on and so forth when I'm flying in to New York last night

08:46 And I want to shave or a haircut

08:50 The old-school way actually the current way most of us do we call up. Yeah, or text yeah, yeah

08:57 But but it's during the day. Yep. I mean I came in it. You know I got here at 10 o'clock last night

09:02 No, I you know

09:04 I'm in my family so we do that old school thing up and the guys like hey, man

09:08 I'm doing doing a cut right now. What time you want to come in let me check my back my book

09:12 That's that's 20th century

09:14 We should be able to go online

09:15 I don't I should to call you go online to Joe's barber shop first of all search on the internet on the computer on the

09:21 plane local black barber shops

09:23 Comes up go to the website go to the scheduling app

09:28 Put in my appointment for 9 in the morning before my interview

09:32 Here's my credit card in case I don't show up. It's a cancellation fee. Gee I'm on the line

09:38 Let me get myself a wave cap

09:40 in your case a

09:42 mustache

09:44 It's a beard a beard brush not a wave cap, but I want the wave cap

09:49 so I

09:52 Think that you know that way the person's gonna get

09:55 An order is three or four times

09:58 the value of that haircut and you've been by the way you actually get my order because if I got you have to wait for

10:03 Me to call you I get up in the morning my day start

10:07 80% chance I'm gonna forget to call to get that haircut yeah, whether I show up or not

10:11 There's income now you build wealth in your sleep, but what I'm really saying is you make money during the day

10:15 you build wealth in your sleep and

10:18 e-commerce is one of the ways that we have got to be part of the

10:21 The future you know 96% of all black businesses don't have an employee and probably are not on technology

10:27 Yeah, got a change. Yeah, well

10:29 I can't wait to the day that you guys hit that 1 million mark is then after that we're gonna take it to 2 million

10:34 By business, I'm sure right as we go financial literacy for all disrupting struggle advancing financial freedom and building a new

10:41 American a middle class this is about your sixth book it is my six six good man and

10:46 Up from nothing in 2020 still thank you for that phenomena re what made you author this book

10:51 And I know it's a part of a bigger initiative right there

10:54 2022 you guys announced that 10-year initiative financial literacy for all a lot of CEOs heavy hitters you have on that board

11:00 But what made you author this book?

11:03 You know when they killed dr. King not comparing myself to dr. King in any way

11:08 I'm just giving context for it for this I do this believe this is the third reconstruction

11:12 But when they killed dr. King they killed the dream

11:15 They killed the dreamer and they killed the dream because he was the manifestation

11:19 He was the voice the movement the messenger the message the organization too many of our leaders

11:25 The movement is wherever they are

11:27 Because it's an articulated vision of inspiration

11:32 I wanted to create plumbing

11:34 so

11:36 You know we don't have an infrastructure black America does not have an economic

11:41 Infrastructure we've been trying to do this since the Freedmen's Bank

11:45 Well that was a vision of the Freedmen's Bank of 1865

11:48 Bank charter to teach free slaves about money Lincoln was assassinated Frederick Douglass tried to run it as you know you know your history

11:55 Maybe new for the audience that was 1865

11:59 We're not dumb, and we're not stupid

12:01 It's what we don't know that we don't know that's killing us, but we think we know so that's why we talk about

12:05 I want to make that money. We get this dollar

12:07 We get this bag we get this or we get a hundred million dollar contract

12:10 And we end up working at Starbucks five years later after we go broke clearly. It's not just about making money

12:16 You make you get rich. That's not building wealth you build wealth as you know in your sleep, so

12:21 It just struck me. We don't have the infrastructure. I'm gonna say there's something pretty radical. We need a black Jewish business plan

12:29 It's no matter how somebody how much somebody's discriminating against you or trying to keep you down

12:34 Still you rise because your owners were writing checks not just cashing them

12:39 So to go from an access movement of a second reconstruction to a ownership movement of a third reconstruction from the streets of the suites

12:45 You need a plan you need piping you need plumbing you need a system. You need green offices. We have red offices

12:51 stopping discrimination

12:54 stopping bias stopping racism

12:57 We're in the city of New York

12:59 I mean Reverend Al Sharpton has done an incredible job of pushing back against bias and the NAACP and all these other organizations

13:05 Which are invaluable?

13:07 We need some green rooms access to capital access to internships access to corporations access to contracts

13:12 We need to grow the wealth which is I think is the ultimate

13:16 protection maybe the

13:19 Only true freedom is financial freedom every other one can be taken from you

13:23 so we need to go for a defensive mode to an offensive mode and needs to be a business plan for that and

13:29 a manual and

13:31 I did I said we didn't have the memo in my fourth book. I think it was

13:35 And now and up from nothing was say I'm not gonna tell you about my successes. I'm gonna tell you about my failures

13:41 It was a personal testimony of me tripping falling and getting back up again

13:47 Giving people inspiration giving them the mindset the five pillars of success the mindset of what you can do to succeed

13:53 This is the rule book the toolbox

13:56 the tool set and the kitchen table

14:00 instruments to allow you to actually have a robust and non-emotional conversation about any

14:06 Facet of what's going on in your personal life your professional life your relationship life your relationship with money that no one ever tells you

14:14 Yeah, and we're ashamed to admit and discuss it

14:17 I mean I say in there that you know the average credit score for black folks is below 620

14:22 Just stop right there

14:25 Racism bias discrimination police brutality all horrible things real

14:30 But it could be it's quite possible when you wake up in the morning your biggest problem is your credit score is 580

14:36 Yeah, you live at 61 years old. This is in the book. We have a hope credit score index

14:42 We've mapped every zip code in America by credit score

14:45 If you live in a 580 credit score neighborhood you live to 61 years old

14:50 You move 15 minutes from there

14:53 to a 700 credit score neighborhood

14:56 You live to 81 years old

15:00 Yeah, that's a 20-year Delta in Jabari

15:03 So security is at 65

15:07 So you work your whole life and you die before you get the benefits of Social Security forget the everything else

15:12 But also in that 580 credit score neighborhood you see you've heard me say this a check casher next to a payday loan lender next

15:19 To a rent-to-own store not to a title lender next to a liquor store next to a pawn shop

15:25 Church down the street local therapists try to make you feel a little bit better about your drama once a week

15:31 So you don't go cray-cray a postal on somebody

15:34 My white friends have the same issue in poor white rural America, but they're riding at the ballot box. We ride in the streets

15:41 We're more emotional. We're both riding neither one of us gonna lead anywhere. So

15:45 Home ownership rates in the dumps here

15:48 Violent crimes through the roof here 580 credit score neighborhood

15:51 You you go to school and to you know, 65% of people have a high school education compared to 96% here

15:57 This is college basically

15:59 Home ownership rate is for 28 to 45 percent here

16:03 It's 75% here easiest way to build a home ownership built wealth as home ownership. So if the data is so glaring I

16:10 Mapped it out just so there would be no debate about it. So, okay

16:15 Let's we love math because doesn't have an opinion. Let's look at the data and the math and let that drive us what?

16:21 You you love Malcolm X. I love Martin Luther King jr. And Andrew Young. What did not go make say we've been bamboozled

16:27 We've been tricked. We've been fooled, right? I

16:31 Think the data sets you free so that the the data the index then

16:36 The business plan whether it's home ownership small business ownership

16:40 Entrepreneurship, which is different than small business ownership whether it's being a consumer at you know consumer citizen

16:48 What whatever your deal is cool with me?

16:50 But if you don't use your money your money's gonna use you and

16:54 I'm hoping that people remove the shame

16:59 Replace it with a plan

17:01 begin to say

17:03 When they go out to the club tonight

17:05 Not just you cute you fine you handsome. What's your credit score? Yeah, because you're picking a business partner

17:12 And not just a mate for life. Yes. It's a business plan. It's a business contract what it is, right?

17:19 It's marriage. That's where originally came from. It was not a romantic

17:22 Affair it was a business. It was two families

17:25 Trying to figure out how they could protect

17:28 Assets and ownership and legacy and wealth two plus two was gonna equal six eight or ten

17:33 Only way the place the mass should not work is in a relationship

17:36 It's two plus two should equal six eight or ten or what are you doing?

17:39 Jabari what inspires me is the same thing that frustrates me

17:44 The problems in our community are so basic

17:48 If we just fix the basic stuff

17:52 Skyrocket, yeah, because when the rules are published and the playing field is level we kill it

17:58 Professional sports. I know you love sports

18:00 The arts

18:04 Politics faith

18:07 We absolutely kill it yeah and even writing a book right

18:12 Look at all the work that you put into this book man. What would what would you tell?

18:17 That parent of a gen Zer right gen alpha was giving the alpha gen alpha is on the rise, right?

18:24 I mean those are the the generations that they come up with nothing but technology computers iPads

18:29 What have you but Gen Z is the generation that this is where your new your next consumers coming from your way?

18:35 What do you tell a parent of a gen Zer about?

18:38 Tips and tricks on how to improve maybe their teenagers financial literacy, you know education overall

18:43 if you

18:46 First of all, I don't have a child as a child

18:50 If you are 18 19 20 years old

18:54 Get as much education as you can shove down your throat

18:56 Well, it's the five pillars of success as much as education you can shove down your throat get three or four of these and you will

19:02 be successful

19:04 Understand financial literacy. So get your financial literacy education. So you're using the money the money's not using you

19:09 Because 96% of all our businesses don't have an employee and 91 92 percent of all of our 1.6 trillion dollars of consumer spending

19:18 It's consumption

19:20 Number three family structure and resiliency

19:23 So don't have a child out of wedlock if you if you do there's no shame in that game

19:28 But it changes your life if you're a responsible parent, by the way

19:31 Baby, daddy, baby mama knock all that stuff off kid don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear it

19:36 I don't even know what it means. You're a father or you're a mother be a parent whether you're with a nuclear family or not

19:42 But if you can you can delay that process get your education

19:46 Get your job get your career get your degree get your pathway then get married then have a child

19:53 In that order so back to the five pillars

19:56 Education financial literacy family structure resiliency self-esteem and confidence. So tell that kid I love you every day

20:03 Yeah, and when they make a mistake say I'm angry at you you future lawyer

20:08 I'm upset with you you future entrepreneur. Yes, hold them accountable, but speak to their inspiration their aspiration

20:16 Let them know they you're they're always

20:19 Love that one thing you and I have is self-esteem

20:22 If I don't like me, I'm not gonna like you. This is the biggest problem in black America

20:26 It's low self-esteem. Yeah, somebody's watching this right now

20:30 Can't help themselves who's he think he is. See that's not

20:33 Got nothing

20:36 Somebody watching this just had to catch themselves. It's it's it's

20:39 Unconscious it's self-hate. It's like a self because you don't know me. Why wouldn't you just be clapping? Oh, whatever he's doing

20:48 That's great. It's a signal for what I can do fantastic

20:51 Why would there be any hint of negativity, but if I have low self-esteem hurt people hurt people so if I don't like me

20:58 I'm not gonna like you

21:00 If I don't feel good about me, I'm not gonna feel good about you if I don't love me

21:03 I don't have a clue how to love you. Yeah, and if I don't have a purpose in my life

21:07 I'll make your life a living hell

21:09 So we tend to have low self-esteem and high confidence because we've succeeded

21:12 Against all odds in the biggest market economy in the world my African brothers and sisters my Caribbean brothers and sisters

21:19 Tend to have high self-esteem and lower levels of confidence another conversation for another day

21:24 So we almost need to trade on each other. They need more confidence to succeed in the market economy

21:30 We need more higher self-esteem. So we love each other and

21:33 Have the right priorities. Otherwise your assets gonna be on your yeah

21:37 All right. So in the fourth piece is role models in environment kids need to be

21:42 young men need to be modeling you booted and suited and

21:45 Dressed for success because we model what we see right? So those any three or four of those

21:52 Now you want to say John details? Okay

21:56 If you're outflow sees your inflow your over it should be your downfall

21:59 You're gonna have you have a kid make sure there's a account at kindergarten because a kid at kindergarten

22:04 Will be 50% more likely to go to college

22:08 And 75% more likely to graduate with $25 and you see a count a savings account. Yeah a simple savings account

22:15 We do that at Atlanta Public Schools for mayor Andre Dickens for every kid in Atlanta Public Schools

22:19 They have a kids a hope kids account track your credit score at an early age when I go to the airport

22:25 TSA agents are screaming to me. Yo, John

22:28 671 it should become a new norm

22:32 Tell them to be obsessed about buying a home as early as

22:35 Reasonably possible because the tax code is designed around to support home buyers

22:40 Yeah

22:41 home ownership and you get your money back in a tax refund because most those payments are gonna be tax deductible for 20 to 30

22:47 years of a mortgage

22:48 Brother said to me. Oh, man. I don't want to own no home bank owns a home if you don't pay

22:55 So so yeah knock off the silliness

23:01 and

23:02 create a business plan that's really basic for success and

23:06 Take 10% of every paycheck put it into an account on your own if you're working for a major company take that 401k

23:13 Program is free money. It's it's max it out

23:16 If you're making less than $60,000 a year get the earned income tax credit. It's free money

23:21 It's a it's a credit for working the government takes back 20 billion dollars a year

23:25 Because people read us

23:27 Don't ask for earned income tax credit you make it thirty eight thousand dollars a year. You have three children the government owes you

23:34 $6,500 a year it's retroactive Jabari for three years if you never ever filed for it

23:42 That's almost 20 grand now somebody watching this

23:44 If you make thirty eight thousand dollars a year forty thousand dollars a year

23:48 Jabari and Forbes just got you a check go to operation

23:51 Hope and we'll commend your tax return for free or one of our coaches and counselors. So those are some basic

23:57 things

23:59 Don't be emotional about decision-making think three times act once

24:03 But love yourself. I mean if you love yourself

24:06 One thing I absolutely adore about you other than the fact that you're a great father

24:10 Is your is you've made smart sexy and you have high self-esteem

24:15 You somebody told you they loved you and you believed it

24:18 You look at me straight my right now most people have to start to look away that self

24:23 Esteem and you're not tripping on you're saluting my success because you're comfortable with your own

24:28 You're reasonably comfortable your own skin. These are basic things that we missed

24:32 I'm sorry that other people tried to make sure that we did not secure and we got it. We got to heal ourselves

24:38 healing

24:41 Healing because a lot of us are depressed real

24:43 Talk, we're walking around clinically undiagnosed

24:47 depressed

24:49 Yeah, get you out of here man some macroeconomic stuff man

24:53 But before I jump into that one final thing, I wanted to ask I've never asked you this question before man

24:58 What is how do you run an effective nonprofit right here is operational?

25:03 Hope you guys filed or your annual report seventy one point six million

25:07 And I'm looking I'm saying hey he went from 25 to 50 to 70 point seventy one point six million in revenue and support

25:17 And I'm like man somebody loves John O'Brien man because they can see but what does it take to run an effective?

25:23 Nonprofit because I get pissed on nonprofits all the time

25:25 I don't know which ones are real from the fake which ones are in it or what?

25:29 What does it take to run an effective nonprofit man? This could have been the whole interview right here

25:32 No, you've just you just said something. No one's ever asked me the question

25:36 Keep your hand on the cookie bit cookie jar. It's not yours. I

25:41 Founded it

25:43 I'm the chairman and CEO and as long as I continue to responsibly run it

25:47 I guess I control it but the but a 501 c3 nonprofit, please now everybody

25:53 this will be the outtake there buddy should really obsess on a

25:57 501 c3 nonprofit is a corporation like any other corporation

26:02 I'm gonna do this on my podcast for money and wealth with with Charlemagne in coming weeks

26:06 I'm gonna break down every kind of corporation every type of every type of company LLC, you know, C Corp B Corp

26:12 I'm gonna break all of them down but a people to think that a nonprofit is a different entity

26:16 It is a same it is the same corporate entity as any other it just has in addition to that a tax-exempt

26:22 Status. Mm-hmm. So first of all, it's a corporation when you own a corporation

26:28 You own you're the shareholder when you get the taxes of status and you can and people can donate and write off the contribution

26:34 That means that you don't own the company anymore the public does

26:38 So I've some some very clear policies for my when I run operation

26:42 Hope I can give to hope I can benefit to hope the benefit but hope cannot benefit me

26:47 Don't do anything. They say to my office. You don't see on the front page of the New York Times in five years

26:53 Don't put me in a limousine by accident at the airport

26:56 Don't book me in a five-star hotel. I'll book in three or four star. I'll upgrade myself

27:01 Don't don't put me in the first-class plane ticket. I'll buy coach and upgrade. There are some basic things

27:07 They're optically are just not cool. But also structurally you just shouldn't be doing have proper books and records

27:13 Preferably audited financial statements. It's okay to have a for-profit in a nonprofit. They have to have Chinese walls

27:18 Separating those entities. I have different staff of foreign employees. I have different staff

27:23 for mine

27:26 Promise homes company in the same building promise homes company on the 25th floor Brian group ventures and

27:31 operation hope on the 38th floor

27:35 Same building different leases different financial statements different audited financial statements, even though I'm the same guy

27:41 I mean run it like you're paranoid

27:43 You can't be the church with the pastor and the old world

27:46 We know the ground lease underneath the church and the church is paying you rent and paying you know

27:51 You know all that stuff you're gonna go to jail

27:53 Please understand they will catch you they will catch you. Yeah, and you're going to jail and your life will be ruined

27:59 Don't take the shortcuts

28:01 Do it right. So why do people wire me millions and millions of dollars?

28:05 I'm honest and I run it like a business 87 cents charity navigator. That's the like a donut Brant Street for Wall Street

28:12 Gave us a four-star rating. That's like a triple bond triple a bond rating for the last eight years

28:18 87 cents of every dollar goes right to the bottom line to help people with programs

28:24 That means it's 13 cents left over from useless things like me and what's called administration

28:31 So the numbers have to be right now in addition to the 70 million in budget

28:36 Which was up from 16 million in the late teens

28:38 So 2018 2019 they went to 25 million during George Floyd and 25 million 50 million now 70 million

28:45 but there's 4.5 billion an

28:47 investment

28:49 from operations partners

28:51 Into underserved neighborhoods 300 offices the largest organization in the country for delivery of financial coaching

28:57 We're raising credit scores 54 points in six months results and outcomes lowering debt $3,800 increasing savings

29:04 $2,200 for the average person making forty eight thousand dollars a year getting the bank out of the no business and back into the s business

29:11 Solving problems for employers solving problems for communities. So we're in the we have a product we have a we have a deliverable

29:19 We have an annual meeting which you come to the whole global forum

29:23 Which is our annual meeting our shareholder meeting where we have to present ourselves to the public

29:28 To show them what we're doing with their money because it's all transparent including my salary

29:33 Including with my you know, it whatever we do is it's a people's all right there

29:38 And so as long as you operate that way, I think I'm the largest minority black

29:43 founded

29:46 nonprofit and run

29:47 today in the country

29:49 There are people CEOs who have blue black who are big organizations and I do but black

29:53 Certainly male founded and run nonprofit. I believe I'm the largest today. We don't have a 32 years

29:59 So we are a magnet for folks who want to do well and do good and safe

30:04 We know it's amazing. Nobody know they wire money to me. Nobody

30:08 I mean, they just trust that we're gonna do the right thing and we will yeah, and you said keep your hand out of the

30:14 Kiki jar, that's the lesson, you know, keep your hand out of there, man

30:17 Thank you for all the time and some rapid reaction stuff right fast

30:20 And I always respect your opinion on these type of things. We always we talk about financial literacy

30:25 Well the credit to write, you know, perfect segue for this US consumer credit score

30:31 We talked about this and we smiled at it, but it they dropped in 2023

30:35 Now you're coming off of a you know, u.s

30:37 Consumers or 1.1 trillion in credit card companies according to New York Federal Reserve Bank of New York

30:43 When you hear those numbers right credit scores drop, we still have a spending problem because we owe 1.1 trillion in credit as of February

30:50 What's the problem? What's going on? What do you what's going on in your mind when you hear that those numbers?

30:55 Well, I mean look we came out of the worst pandemic

30:58 In 125 years in the world. The Spanish flu was the last time we had a pandemic in the world and we had kovat

31:05 Which you know, that was the first time ever that the government issued a trillion dollars or something with a T in front of it

31:11 for stimulus

31:13 The economy was shut down for two years

31:15 There was a supply and demand problem

31:18 Coming out of that you're gonna have a crap show. It was gonna be a mess

31:21 I'm actually surprised we're doing as well as we are

31:24 I mean, I think the president in the administration and they you know, I've served Republican and Democratic presidents

31:30 I'm not I'm not pitching for any I'm just saying the way I see it. They've done an incredible job. Yeah

31:35 Managing. I mean the fact that we are talking about whether the inflation is 2 or 3 percent

31:39 Versus 13 or 15 percent which is where it is in many places in the world. We're the fastest growing economy on

31:46 the planet yeah, so

31:48 Consumers got stimulus money real talk

31:52 Folks got PPP many people should enough including pookie in them

31:57 And they thought that because they were financially illiterate

32:01 They thought that they were rich or that you know money was flowing like milk and honey and they're spending

32:07 increased to their

32:10 Income their temporary income level income went down spending they you know continued and that's essentially

32:16 They they bifurcated that with credit cards

32:19 Because people think credit cards are

32:23 Money and it is it credit and by the way, I've been there. I was homeless

32:28 You know I've had a credit score at 500 and I'm not I'm not I'm not jacking anybody up

32:33 But this is you know this is a this is a living history lesson, and we're living through history

32:38 But you're happy with when you hear those numbers. You don't think that it's bad or is it maybe Frank?

32:44 No, it could know it. No one trillion dollars plus of credit card. That is a big problem

32:48 I'm actually really concerned about with us. I'm concerned about auto loans because you know that's a pillar

32:52 That's ability to actually floss right and and if you got a Mercedes with an 18% interest rate

32:59 That's not a Mercedes is Mercedes payments

33:01 And we tend to go to a credit an auto dealership and ask what's the payment?

33:04 Instead of what the interest and what's the interest rate you never ask?

33:07 Anything above $1,000 you better ask what the interest rate is before you ask what the payment is and we're buying

33:14 Cars at forget 20,000 when you and I were coming up. It was five ten twenty thousand. We're buying cars

33:22 Eighty thousand one hundred and fifty thousand and

33:26 And the interest rates twelve fifteen percent, that's a mobile bomb

33:32 I think that that's gonna implode on many people they're being payment eyes people are financing

33:38 Sports tickets they're financing rental car and by now play later

33:43 That's a when your life becomes payment eyes your you know your sharecropper

33:48 Yeah, what Andrew Young said to live in a system of free enterprise and not to understand the rules of free enterprise

33:54 Maybe the very definition of slavery so but I do believe the rainbows only follow storms

33:59 So thus now the pain and the problems and no one's giving you another stimulus check now you may have to solve it well

34:07 Financial literacy for all is the thing people go okay now. I need to get my money straight

34:11 I need to get my head straight one thing. I love Jabari about this generation

34:16 Young people like how does this stuff work? Okay? I flossed. Okay. I look good and did my

34:22 Eyes work. I need to know how it works now. That's what gives me inspiration so yes

34:28 It's some challenging things, but let me just drop the mic with this

34:31 There's never been a nation. That was that's grown without good debt

34:36 There's never been a billionaire that was created

34:40 without good debt

34:43 That's not bad. It's bad debt. That's bad financing jewelry financing car tickets for this craps

34:48 Which you know things that go down in value things that go up in value

34:52 Appreciation of home or can stocks and all that kind of stuff that if you get businesses if you apply good debt to that

35:00 Okay, now now I'm sort of rooting for you. Yeah, we don't have capital. We don't have inherited money

35:06 Some of us use credit cards to finance a business, so I can't it's sort of a mixed bag

35:12 What's the source of those credit cards right? Yeah? Yeah? Yeah, good bad versus good good debt versus bad

35:18 Then I know you always preach that I get shot here on this man. I usually do good to great, but because a

35:22 US presidential year and a race some interesting poll came out in The Wall Street Journal and found that

35:29 President Biden losing support amongst black men

35:32 30% were leaning towards voting Republican this year and the poll also found 11% of black women said that they were either

35:39 Definitely or probably gonna vote the Republican way right?

35:42 What's your advice to black voters as we navigate the US presidential year without choosing sides also as a CEO?

35:49 What concerns you and what do you want to hear from the candidates the Bible says with a you know how somebody cannot stand?

35:55 This is real simple

35:57 Look at who's dividing you and that's their business plan and look at who's saying we're better together

36:04 Now and also

36:06 Were you actually better off?

36:09 36 years ago

36:11 Were you better off four years ago? Are you better off now? Have you have you been doing pretty?

36:15 Okay, the last four years. I mean we came out of a pandemic. I mean, how are you doing the economy?

36:20 Actually, it's pretty strong people complaining about interest rates

36:23 You know my daddy and my mama dealt with 15 18 percent interest rates 5% is actually not so bad

36:28 The president the current president Biden is not a great marketer. Let's just call it what it is

36:33 You know black people who were emotional like we want we want to feel it

36:37 Yeah, I was listening to Bishop TD Jake so I love and when he was giving he gave a left-brain sort of financial literacy lesson

36:44 He were like

36:46 Then he said, okay

36:48 Glad you heard me. They've slipped into preacher mode. Yeah. Oh my god. He went wild the same audience

36:53 Yeah, I'm sitting there watching this go. This is fascinating right me. My wife was just checking it out. So we're an emotional people

36:59 We want to feel you

37:01 You know, he doesn't have that Bill Clinton

37:04 Obama energy

37:06 But that doesn't mean that the business plan is not right. And so I think that we have no choice in my opinion

37:13 You got the president in a you know, and you've got a malignant narcissist who literally literally is calling you out literally

37:22 Disrespecting you and literally trying to divide you and literally telling you he doesn't care about you

37:27 To me. It's just not even it's just not even

37:30 difficult

37:32 It's Biden older than I'd like. Yes, I mean, but he's not past the sell-through date and

37:38 The plant the the basic bones of the economy and his business plan is is working and maybe it's because he has a sister next

37:44 To him. I don't know but I just think that that we're not feeling it. Yeah, and we're and I get that

37:50 but three days before the election

37:53 It'll be like

37:55 Yeah, I can't do that

38:02 Yeah, no, I can't I can't do that

38:04 I don't think this is gonna be it's gonna be tight and I don't want people nobody can afford to sit at home

38:11 No

38:12 But but I do believe that this that is going to become pretty obvious to everybody

38:16 in black men

38:18 We don't think black men may not think the government's ever done anything for them and they they they may not be paying a lot

38:23 of attention to the insults all that stuff and they see what they think is a businessman and go where at least Lisa makes

38:29 Some money that kind of much is more thing

38:31 But he's not actually a great business

38:34 And you're sitting in a very city who might might agree with you in New York who they might John we can go on for

38:42 Hours man talking financial literacy talking geopolitics talking us presidential race man. I appreciate all the time financially see for all

38:48 Disrupting struggle advancing financial freedom and building a new American middle class. Make sure you all go check that out

38:55 John a civil rights issue of this generation. That's right. That's right. Not silver silver silver rights

39:01 You gotta say it slowly from civil rights to sue

39:03 By the way, Kosey Jabari in Atlanta the ATL for the absolutely second annual force be okay

39:10 So I'd be okay. So I'm the moral the moral capital of America

39:14 Appreciate all the time John Hope Bryant here at the Nasdaq market site financial literacy month

39:20 We could not let the month escape without talking to this man. We'll see you next time. Thanks for watching

39:25 You

39:27 You

39:29 You

39:31 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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