The Best of: Money & Wealth - Money Mentors

Summary

Podcast Summary: Money And Wealth With John Hope Bryant

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Episode: The Best of: Money & Wealth - Money Mentors
Release Date: December 25, 2024
Host: John Hope Bryant
Guest: Alex Rodriguez (Rod), Don Peoples
Produced by: The Black Effect and iHeartPodcasts

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Introduction

In this special "Best of" episode of Money And Wealth, John Hope Bryant teams up with renowned former Major League Baseball star Alex Rodriguez and distinguished real estate mogul Don Peoples. The episode delves deep into the themes of financial literacy, economic empowerment, and the pivotal role these play within the Black community and beyond.

Meet the Guests

John Hope Bryant
A successful entrepreneur, executive, and philanthropist, John Hope Bryant is dedicated to fostering a wealth-building mindset. Through his organization, Operation HOPE, he empowers individuals to achieve financial stability and prosperity.

Alex Rodriguez
Known affectionately as "Rod," Alex Rodriguez brings his extensive experience from 22 seasons in Major League Baseball to discussions on business and community development. As the chairman and CEO of A-Rod Corp., Rodriguez emphasizes the importance of financial literacy and economic empowerment.

Don Peoples
A legend in real estate and business, Don Peoples is the driving force behind The People's Corporation, a multi-entity company valued at over a billion dollars in real estate development. His journey from the civil rights movement to today’s economic landscape offers valuable insights into building sustainable wealth.

Key Discussions and Insights

1. The Foundation of Financial Literacy (05:10)

John Hope Bryant opens the conversation by exploring his early life influences. Growing up in Washington Heights, Manhattan, near Yankee Stadium, Bryant shares, “Ever since I was a rookie and got drafted in 1993 by the Seattle Mariners, I was thinking about life after baseball” (06:00). This foresight was driven by witnessing peers lose their wealth post-career, fueling his passion for financial literacy from a young age.

Notable Quote:
“Financial literacy is going to unlock my future and hopefully get me out of this neighborhood.” – John Hope Bryant (07:02)

2. The Role of Family in Shaping Financial Mindset (06:49)

Bryant credits his parents for instilling key values. Despite his father's struggles with alcoholism, Bryant emphasizes the resilience and work ethic inherited from his mother, who juggled multiple jobs to support the family. This upbringing highlighted the importance of saving and prudent financial management.

Notable Quote:
“She would take that pouch and put that money out and put it in an envelope. Then she would say, son, help me pick up the mattress.” – John Hope Bryant (07:02)

3. Economic Empowerment and Historical Context (13:18)

As the conversation deepens, Alex Rodriguez transitions to broader societal issues, reflecting on historical figures like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and their vision for economic empowerment. Rodriguez asserts, “The only true freedom is, I believe, and Chris Gorman of KeyBank is the one who gave me this quote, is potentially financial and economic freedom” (25:07).

Notable Quote:
“Financial empowerment is the lever of economics to pull back on.” – Alex Rodriguez (25:07)

4. Building Economic Infrastructure (29:57)

Introducing Don Peoples, Rodriguez highlights his pivotal role in transforming Atlanta into a hub for Black economic empowerment. Peoples recounts his experiences during the civil rights movement and the importance of economic opportunities in achieving lasting societal change.

Notable Quote:
“Dr. King understood it. I remember his quote: What good does it serve for the Negro to have a seat at the lunch counter when they can't afford to buy a hamburger?” – Don Peoples (30:17)

5. The Vision for Inclusive Capitalism (18:35)

Rodriguez and Peoples discuss the necessity of a radical, transformational approach to capitalism that ensures inclusivity and economic justice. They emphasize that economic power is a cornerstone for sustaining political and social freedoms, particularly within marginalized communities.

Notable Quote:
“We need to create an economic infrastructure for the underserved of this country.” – Don Peoples (30:17)

Conclusions and Takeaways

The episode underscores the critical intersection of financial literacy and economic empowerment in fostering sustainable wealth within the Black community and beyond. John Hope Bryant, alongside Alex Rodriguez and Don Peoples, advocates for:

• Early Financial Education: Instilling financial literacy from a young age to prepare individuals for long-term prosperity.
• Economic Infrastructure: Building robust economic systems that support minority-owned businesses and empower underserved communities.
• Inclusive Capitalism: Reforming capitalism to be more inclusive, ensuring that economic growth benefits all segments of society.

Final Quote:
“If ever we lose political power, if ever we lose the rights that we hold dear, the only real power potentially is economic power.” – Alex Rodriguez (25:07)

Conclusion

Money And Wealth With John Hope Bryant delivers a powerful message on the importance of financial empowerment and economic infrastructure. Through engaging discussions with Alex Rodriguez and Don Peoples, the episode provides actionable insights and inspiration for individuals seeking to improve their financial standing and contribute to a more inclusive economy.

For those interested in transforming their financial future and understanding the deeper implications of economic empowerment, this episode serves as an invaluable resource.

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Note: Advertisements and non-content segments from the transcript have been excluded to focus on the core discussions and insights presented during the episode.

Transcript

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[Movie Critic]

Critics and audiences are falling in love with the Fire Inside.

[Alex Rodriguez]

As long as I'm boxing, I'm gonna be okay.

[Movie Critic]

Based on the inspirational true story.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Damn proud of you, y'all. Golden girl.

[Movie Critic]

It's a knockout crowd pleaser. The whole family can agree on my.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Baby going to the Olympics.

[Movie Critic]

It's this generation's Rocky.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Can't nobody beat me.

[Movie Critic]

You'll stand up and cheer.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Let's go.

[Movie Critic]

It's one of the best movies of the year.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You represent out there, fool. Mom, we do it in Flint.

[Movie Critic]

The Fire Inside Based on the incredible True story. Rated PG13. Inappropriate for children under 13.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Now playing only in theaters at&T knows a voice can change everything. And if you're a podcast junkie like me, you appreciate hearing the sound of someone's voice. It's one reason we save voicemails from people we love. And when I need a one on one boost, of course I call my girl Giselle. When I want some comfort, it's my dad.

[Pandora Jewelry Advertiser]

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[Alex Rodriguez]

So go ahead, send a voice note, Leave a voicemail. Call someone. Cause it's more than a convo. It's a chance to say something they'll hear forever.

[Pandora Jewelry Advertiser]

Happy holidays from AT&T. Connecting changes everything.

[John]

Piece of the plan.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It's Charlamagne Tha God here. And as we come closer to closing out this year, I just wanna say thank you for tuning in to the Black Effect Podcast Network. There have been so many great moments over the past year. Take a listen to some of those captivating moments in this special best of episode.

[Alex Rodriguez]

This is money and wealth and I'm honored to be here with a new friend, Alex Rodriguez. Many would know him as a Rod. Let me give you the part that's easy. For all the baseball fans, you may or may not know that he came from Dominican Republic. His family were immigrants. Victor Rodriguez's father and Lourdes Nelly Nevado Mello. I hope I said that right. His mother, they came from. Well, he came. It was born in 1975 in Washington Heights section of Manhattan and came to this country with a dream. He was raised alongside his his siblings Joe and Susie and achieved incredible things in his professional career that started, as you know, playing 22 seasons in major League Baseball. That's the Seattle Mariners, the Texas Rangers, the New York Yankees, and of course later as chairman CEO of a Rod. But we're going to get into that because it actually wasn't later. It was actually almost right away. But I'm getting ahead of myself. And he has been passionate about business and sports and community. And I will say from my own perspective, I would say the maximization and unleashing of untapped human potential at scale. We'll talk about a little bit about that. With regard to how he treats his employees, Alice and I spent some time in the community a few months ago here in Atlanta at Clark Atlanta University. He showed up very simply for no compensation because he was asked to. And so this is an important conversation about things that matter most at a time where everything matters. And I'm honored to be with my new friend, Alex Rodriguez.

[John]

John, great to be here, man. We've been looking forward to doing this together.

[Alex Rodriguez]

We have, we have. And the story of your sports success is a topic of obvious legend. And I don't know if you get tired of talking about it or not, but I want to talk about your sports success from a different window, a different vantage point. I want to understand, was this always about you aspiring to do more? My guess is initially you were passionate, absolutely passionate about baseball. That was when you were in the Dominican Republic. That was something that you obsessed on, is that right?

[John]

Yeah, like ever since, you know, I was born in New York. I was born in the shadows of Yeshiba university, right around 183rd, 1975, very close to Yankee Stadium. My father owned a shoe store in our apartment and very Much like my father, ever Since I was 10 years old, I've always wanted to be a baseball player and a businessman. And I was fairly good with numbers. My father was too, and I had a passion for it. And ever since I was a rookie and I got drafted in 1993 by the Seattle Mariners with the 1 pick overall in the first round, I was thinking about life after baseball because I've seen enough examples of players that have gone like me from rags to riches, back to rags. And I didn't want to be an addition to that unfortunate number or statistic. So that was my passion early on, was to have a path, to have a good life post baseball.

[Alex Rodriguez]

You were inspired by that balance initially from your dad, is that right?

[John]

Yep.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Yeah. And mom is where you got the self esteem. She poured the love in you and said you can do anything. Is that right?

[John]

Yeah. You know, my father, he passed some years ago and he left us when he was 10. And I never saw in those 10 years my father raised his voice once, even though he was an alcoholic, he would drink 20, 24 beer cans a day, Budweiser, I'll never forget, and two packs of cigarettes a day. So in my mind as a 10 year old John, I thought, my father's going to be dead by the age of 30. There's no way that anyone can live this type of lifestyle. But never saw him drunk, even though I'm sure he was. But he was an acting alcoholic and very functional. And the amount of cigarettes he was smoking in my house was like intoxicating. But my mother, I got my toughness and my grit and my work ethic from her. She worked at General motors for over 20 years and then when Stad left, she had to pivot. Once we arrived in Miami at the age of nine and I joined the Boys and Girls Club, she was a secretary in the morning and served table at night. And I remember her coming home after 12 hours of working, around midnight, sometimes 11 o'clock at night. And I would just be watching, finishing watching the Mets game, watching Kiner's Corner and I would give her a big hug and I would take her pouch where she had her tip money and I would start counting that money. And you know, on Thursdays, Mondays, Tuesdays it was 32, $28, 29, 30. But Fridays and Saturdays were the big ticket nights and she would come home sometimes with 58, 59, 60 bucks and said, boy, we're richer than Warren Buffett. We made it big. But then John, she did something interesting. She would then take that pouch and put that money out and put it in an envelope. Then she would say, son, help me pick up the mattress. And I remember like an 11 year old boy, like it was yesterday, she would take that envelope and put it right under that mattress. And I said mom, but wait a minute, there's banks all around our neighborhoods. Why don't you go put the money there? And being an immigrant mother and not trusting banks, she goes, son, we don't trust banks, we trust cash and we trust our mattress. So that was the start for me where I said financial literacy is going to unlock my future and hopefully get me out of this neighborhood.

[Coca Cola Advertiser]

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[Alex Rodriguez]

Even.

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[Alex Rodriguez]

This is my pool for economic empowerment and the uplifting of all of us. Whether color is not black or white as in race or red or blue as in politics, it's green as in, at least in the United States of America, US Currency. Wherever you're listening to this or watching this around the world, we've got a message for you too. This is about the aspiration generation. This is about all of us coming up from nothing. This is about all of us aspiring and succeeding. And we have a very special episode today. Not only is it with my brother and my friend Van Jones, who I think is a genius, I believe is beyond and ahead of his time, which is why some people give him drama and problems because they don't really understand the frequency that he's on. And he does not always take the time to break down how he's thinking. He's too busy doing and moving than be overly concerned about how something is being interpreted. He rather his results speak for him. But I think it's important for people to understand Van so they listen to him. So they said that more people trust him because he I believe is one of the true thought leaders for the 21st century. Now, keep in mind, we killed Dr. King. Keep in mind that Dr. King's friends called him Martin Luther King. Martin Luther Kun, Uncle Tom fell out wannabe. And these were his friends talking. He won the Nobel Peace Prize. Keep in mind it wasn't the Afrikaans, it was the ANC that actually undercover threatened to take out Nelson Mandela because he was, quote, negotiating with the enemy, end quote. He had brought the former, well, an Africana on his cabinet as vice president. When he became president, that was certainly ahead of his time and nobody agreed with what he was doing. But he was a moneymaker. He was a guy bringing the cash in. He was a cache. So people kept it quiet. But real talk, it was people in his own party who really had great animus for him because he was just a visionary. And it was Gandhi who wanted to bring two countries together into one. And he was killed for that. It was Shimon Peres, once again killed trying to bring something rational. Peace to the Middle east solution. I mean, going on and on and on. It was, you know, Malcolm X who came back from Mecca and said, gee, all white people are the devil. I just prayed with white people in Mecca. He was dead within two weeks. Right? He's messing with somebody's business plan. President Bill Clinton once said, it's hard to get somebody to agree to the truth when the lie is paying your paycheck doesn't be that diabolical or that's cynical. It just could be. Look, I'm fighting the short term battle for the survival of my people. And I don't know what you're doing. You being the person with a vision may be fighting a long term, not only a battle, but trying to win the war. And those two strategies may look different. I'm a partnership guy, the protest guy, maybe like Buck John Hope Bryant. I think they understand now what I'm trying to do. But when I first started this work, people called me all kind of names, man. They rolled their eyes. Capitalism, financial literacy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now they get it right? But when I first started this, the protest people really thought that I was a waste of time. But I needed the protest people to set up the situation where the companies and governments and entities and communities want to partner with a guy like me to create an environment where there was no need for protests anymore. I say all this to say we have a radical movement of common sense, Van and I. But Van is even more on the forefront of progressive, innovative thought than I am in Many ways, but he takes less time to explain his situation. He's always explaining somebody else's situation. That's what he does on cnn, all the time, explaining somebody else's situation. So I want. I believe, and I. Van does not know. Van does not know. I'm about to say this. This is all live and in the moment. We, we have not talked about this other than Van saying, ask me whatever you like. I believe that we are in this moment in history. Vance heard this part before. I believe we're sitting in a moment in history. But history does not feel historic when you're sitting in. It feels like another day. I believe this is the third reconstruction. Vance heard me say this before. Some of the listeners have heard me say this before. From the streets to the suites, from civil rights to civil rights. What you have not heard me say is I think we need a radical, transformational approach to the new capitalism, to the new economy, to the future. And that part, I want that. And I think if people can hear you say your vision on that part, which we have not discussed and you did not know I was going to say, but if I gave you the charge of saying what's bold and audacious, if you knew there was a future and you knew you could not fail, what would you say? What would you do? Yeah, what is your vision for all of us, particularly black folks, but all of them on a go forward basis?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Well, look, I mean, it's a deep question and let me, let me go backwards before I go forward. You have to ask a deep question about why, if you believe in God, if you believe in a just universe, if you believe in any kind of spirit of love or whatever you want to call it, why did black people get stolen from Africa, brutalized, mistreated, raped, assaulted, not for a day, not for a weekend, not for a decade, not for a century, but for three centuries. Why? How is that consistent with any high spiritual understanding of anything? Why are we here as African Americans? We'll never know the answer. But you could choose to say that the West, Western civilization, needed a soul, needed a moral compass, needed something within it that could keep its worst impulses in check and insist that, that it reach its highest goals and aspirations. And that's really what African Americans in my mind, is what we are. If you took African Americans out of this country, even just on a political policy, voting basis, this country would lurch so far into authoritarianism and despotism that you would have a menace on the planet, such of which you'd never seen before. And so we have a responsibility.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Back up. You've already gone deep. Explain to people what you just said. Like that was deep in and of itself.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, people have to understand where I'm coming from. I'm coming from a position that black people have a special calling on our culture, on our lives and on our people. That we're special people that we represent through pain and suffering. We represent hope, we have soul, we have a moral direction. We've produced world class leaders that people around the world talk about from Dr. King to Malcolm X. People saying we shall overcome in Eastern Europe when it's time to struggle. Something about and the thing about that we're only 10% of a country, is only 5% of the world. So this tiny, tiny little group of people, somehow world culture revolves around us. From hip hop, Beyonce just took over country music. I mean this tiny little group of people has produced world class culture, has produced world class literature, has produced world class political leadership. We have had one black president already might have a second. Hard to know what is going on with this group.

[Coca Cola Advertiser]

The holidays are about spending time with your loved ones and creating magical memories that will last a lifetime. So whether it's family and friends you haven't seen in a while or those who you see all the time, share holiday magic this season with an ice cold Coca Cola Copyright 2024 the Coca Cola Company.

[Pandora Jewelry Advertiser]

Be merry, be bright, be loved this holiday season with sparkling holiday gifts from Pandora Jewelry. Bring the sparkle to Black Friday with Pandora jewelry. From November 16 through December 3, receive 30% off storewide, hand picked and ready to wrap, wear and love select from a wide range of possibilities for personalization. From festive charms with vibrant pops of color, shimmering rings and earrings designed to dazzle to radiant bracelets and necklaces shining in a mix of luminous metals, Pandora has something special for everyone on your holiday list. Shop Pandora jewelry today and save 30% off some exclusion supply.

[Investment Platform Advertiser]

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[Alex Rodriguez]

We have one more act for you this evening. I don't even need to say his name.

[Movie Critic]

Mr. Bob Dylan, a complete unknown, is now a Golden Globe in Critics Choice nominee for Best Picture.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Bobby, what do you want to be?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Whatever it is they don't want me to be.

[Movie Critic]

Timothy Chalamet astonishes as Bob Dylan in one of the best performances of the year and critics rave. Edward Norton is absolutely fantastic.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

70,000 people are here and Bobby is.

[Coca Cola Advertiser]

The reason for it.

[Alex Rodriguez]

They just want me singing blowing in the wind for the rest of my life.

[Movie Critic]

Don't miss the movie. Critics are healing. Five stars. It's pure cinematic magic.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Turn it down.

[Movie Critic]

Pay loud and named to AFI and the National Board of reviews top 10.

[Alex Rodriguez]

Films of the year make some noise toys BD track some mud on the Carpet.

[Movie Critic]

A complete unknown now playing only in theaters. Rated R under 1790 M without parrot.

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[Alex Rodriguez]

This is the first podcast episode post U.S. presidential election 2024. I'm with my brother Don Peoples, who is a legend in real estate and in business. You're going to get to know him and his story and what he has to tell you. But this. We had to reschedule this for a number of reasons tied to our mutual schedule. But in many ways this is now perfect timing and it ties into this moment. So let me see if I can set this up properly. When Dr. King was assassinated in 1968, before that happened, he said, I'm here to redeem the soul of America from the triple evils of war, racism and poverty. He didn't say, I'm here to save black people, even though his work helped a lot of black people. He was there for everybody. And that last movement of the Poor People's campaign had pivoted also to include poor whites, which were then and now the largest population of poverty in America. And he was assassinated on the eve of the launch of that movement. But he had pivoted to economics Ambassador Andrew Young, my mentor, my role model in many ways, the guy who sort of helped raise me in my adult life. Our global spokesman at Operation Hope, who was on the balcony, who helped to turn Atlanta, by the way, to the only international city in the south and the 10th biggest economy in the US almost $500 billion in GDP. He was there when Dr. King was assassinated. And he was the only member of his team to take that mandate from Dr. King and pivot it into political realm to structure power versus their protest for it, and then to turn that into an economy, which was the city of Atlanta, as I just mentioned, almost a $500 billion economy. And. And Don, pivoting to you what Ambassador Young told me a couple next wasn't a couple years ago. I'd say actually it was about eight years ago, 2016, as we had gotten the Freedman's bank renamed on the White House campus from the Treasury Annex building in honor of former slaves who've been chartered a bank to teach free slaves about Money, Financial Literacy, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass. He said, john, you need to stay focused on your work. I never said this publicly now till today. You need to stay focused on your work. Because if ever we lose political power, if ever we lose the rights that we hold dear. And he said, I can't imagine this happening. But if the only real power potentially is economic power, if ever we lose political power, social power, even religious power will only have economic power. The lever of economics to pull back on. You have got to not diminish your work or get distracted from it, because we need an economic infrastructure for the underserved of this country. And it dawns on me that this is where we are, that the only true freedom is, I believe, and Chris Gorman of KeyBank is the one who gave me this quote, is potentially financial and economic freedom. Because once you have it, unless you screw it up, no one can take it from you. And it is. And we live in an economic democracy. This country is, I keep saying, a center slightly right. Center slightly right. It's an economic democracy. It's a inclusive. I like to believe it's inclusive capitalism because you and I came from nothing and made ourselves into significant somethings in America. I don't know another country in the world where our stories would have proliferated at the level that they have. We might have worked for somebody, but you and I work for ourselves. So I'm now turning to you because before we got on camera, we got. We had a very powerful and important conversation, some of which I want you to recount here. But what do you say to Dr. King's vision that. That he was pivoting toward the economic agenda? And what do you say to Ambassador Andrew Young's premonition that at the end of the day, one of the few things you can rely on that you have some control over is economic empowerment? And where are we with regard to that agenda? And then I want to get, of course, into your story and how you have built what you have built. By the way, for those of you who don't know, Don Peoples runs People's. I call the People's Corporation, but it's several entities within his company. That's a billion dollars plus in real estate development. Don Peoples.

[Don Peoples]

Well, great. So he didn't know it. He's.

[Alex Rodriguez]

For those listening to this, I don't know if I did not mention that Don People's is a brother, right? He's black. He's not black for a living. He's a great developer who happens to be black. He's a great leader who happens to be black, but he's proud of his heritage and so am I. He's African American. Okay.

[Don Peoples]

Don People, Absolutely. And in fact, I grew up during the civil rights movement. I was born in 1960 in Washington, D.C. seat of our government, where many of the major protests and demonstrations and the fight in the halls of our government took place. I remember when Dr. King was assassinated. I was watching television about the assassination, but. And then the riots that followed were in my community. Mother had to drive me through a commercial corridor near our home and have me duck down so that I wouldn't be hit as a little boy. And. But. And then, you know, I remember Robert Kennedy's assassination as well. I remember how, you know, and Malcolm X's focus, but I remember that, you know, there was a time of struggle in the country for us to have equal access to just basic civil rights and how we had to fight for those. And now our fight continues to be for economic opportunity. And Dr. King understood it. I remember his quote. It was, what good does it serve for the Negro to have a seat at the lunch counter when they can't afford to buy a hamburger? And so that was all the relevance here about economic empowerment. And so he started the Poor People's March, and ultimately as Poor People's Initiative and so forth, to reset the table economically in the country because our democracy is a capitalistic democracy, was that economic opportunity must lead the way. He set the pathway for Andrew Young and then Maynard Jackson before him. And what happened? Yes, and initially through now Hartsville Jackson Airport, where as mayor he had a vision for Atlanta to be a global city and having an international airport and got a lot of support throughout the state for that. But then people didn't realize what he had. Part of his plan was to make it an economic engine and he had to fight to make it. To protect the opportunity for minority business contracting. He required 35% to be for minority contracting for black contractors and ultimately he fought, won that and that started the pathway of creating significant black wealth in Atlanta and it made Atlanta the Mecca for black economic empowerment.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Once again, thank you for tuning into the Black Effect Podcast Network. See you in 2025 for more great moments from your favorite podcast.

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