INTERVIEW: Jabari Young Talks Forbes, Authentic Journalism, Showcasing Black Wealth + More

Summary

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The Breakfast Club Episode Summary

INTERVIEW: Jabari Young Talks Forbes, Authentic Journalism, Showcasing Black Wealth + More

Podcast: The Breakfast Club (The Black Effect Podcast Network x iHeartPodcasts)
Date: February 20, 2026
Guests: Jabari Young (Senior Writer & Editor, Forbes)
Hosts: DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, Charlamagne Tha God, Lauren Larose

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Episode Overview

In this vibrant interview, The Breakfast Club hosts sit down with Jabari Young, Senior Writer and Editor at Forbes, to discuss his rise in journalism, the importance of authentic reporting, the power of mentorship, and the critical need to amplify stories of Black wealth and business leadership. Jabari shares behind-the-scenes insights into Forbes’ Black 50 list, addresses challenges in Black media representation, and underlines the responsibilities and challenges of credible business journalism in today’s environment.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Jabari Young’s Journey in Journalism

• Background & Early Influences (00:56–02:32)
  • Grew up in North Philly, dreamed of the NBA, but chose journalism after recognizing his talents.
  • Inspired by Stephen A. Smith: “I decided that journalism was it for me... I called up the number [in the byline] and bam, Stephen A. Picks up. And that changed the trajectory.” (01:26)
  • Mentored by Stephen A. while Stephen was covering the Sixers.
• Career Growth
  • Covered San Antonio Spurs, Portland Blazers → CNBC called to cover business in 2019, but hesitant at first until Stephen A. convinced him to see the bigger picture (02:02–03:00).
  • Joined Forbes in 2022 wanting to expand beyond sports business, especially to tell business stories through “the lens of your community” (02:32).
  • Clarence Avant (“Black Godfather”) inspired him to become a problem solver and take stories to the next level (03:00).

Mentorship and Relationships in Media

• Power of Persistence (03:17–06:47)
  • “Closed mouths don’t get fed”—persistence key to gaining mentorships (03:49).
  • Recalls cold calling and regularly reaching out to mentors, especially during holidays to build genuine relationships.
  • Some mentors said “no”; Jabari kept records and didn’t take it personally: “Now, being in the position I’m in, I realize that’s false. You don’t have the time. Like, I’m sure y’all get hit up all the time...” (05:49)
• On Being a Mentor Now
  • He looks for persistent mentees (“If you show persistence, then that’s when I take you seriously.” [06:33])
  • Emphasis on relationship building and consistency for young journalists and creators.

Authentic and Ethical Journalism

• Responsibility & Process (08:19–13:20)
  • True mentorship involves hard conversations: “You gotta hear those things that you don’t want to hear. That’s true mentorship.” (09:03)
  • The difference between real business builders and mere marketers is “time”—willingness to make time for deep, transparent interviews (09:41–11:15).
  • “If I’m making the time and I’m taking time away from my family, you gotta make the time, too...” (11:39)
  • Jabari describes the “pandemic of misinformation” and the need to “reset, go back to doing what we do best, which is being accurate, telling truth and reporting to the American public.” (14:14)

Reporting on Black Wealth and The Forbes Black 50

• Why These Stories Matter (13:53–15:32, 28:52–32:13)

  • Many Black business leaders initially refuse publicity out of privacy or scrutiny concerns (“We got two new billionaires that the public doesn’t know about” [12:52]).
  • Jabari stresses importance: “I need these stories to be told because I need the next generation to see what’s possible outside of entertainment and sports.” (13:03)
  • The Forbes Black 50 List spotlights Black alternative investment leaders in private equity, venture capital, private credit, etc.
  • “Hopefully, this list helps improve the ecosystem because a lot of times we don’t know each other either...” (29:36)

• Representation & Visibility

  • Black achievements in business are underreported: “I see us on [Bloomberg, CNBC] from time to time. We’re sprinkled in. But we not on here all the time.” (14:55)
  • Ownership and representation examples: Walgreens, Hot Topic, The Parking Spot, storage units, nursing homes, and restaurant franchises—all with Black owners or investors (30:43–32:13).

• Inspiration & Real Impact

  • Visibility inspires: “I remember when Diddy, Will Smith, and I think Master P were all on the Forbes list at one time. That was like...I didn’t think, you know, being in hip hop could even get you to that level.” – Charlamagne (36:32)

Challenges in Journalism and Media Now

• Credibility vs. Viral Chasing (16:48–22:01)

  • On the rise of “paid” Forbes articles: distinguishes genuine staff reporting from handles/content paid for as ads.
  • On fact-checking and research: “When you find a great interview, I sit on my couch, I play Madden...and I listen to the interview over and over again.” (17:52)
  • Critiques how many journalists now “run for the viral social media moment” instead of verifying: “Nobody’s asking for comment. They just run into it because they want the viral clip...it’s wrong.” (19:14)
  • Importance of not rushing: “They want to be first. And I’d rather be last...informative, insightful.” (21:42)

• Media Ecosystem and Black Voices

  • Disappearance of dedicated Black news teams; new journalists must search for real stories and authentic platforms, from local papers to non-legacy online journalists (33:39–35:49).
  • “It’s important to keep those stories alive...to write it is permanent almost. It feels realer…Nobody could take that from you. It’s in ink.” (32:48)

Happiness, Wealth, and Relationships

• Are Millionaires and Billionaires Happy? (22:22–23:37)
  • Jabari: “They seem happy, man, but...they could be putting up a front because it’s Forbes so they want to always, you know, make it seem happy.” (22:59)
  • He often reaches out to check on business leaders just to maintain authentic human connections (“You gotta treat them like human beings and check on them from time to time.” [23:33])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Authentic Mentorship:
  • “You gotta hear those things that you don’t want to hear. That’s true mentorship. Those people, that’s really in your corner.” – Jabari Young (09:03)
• On Journalism Ethics:
  • “We’re in this misinformation pandemic. And so the biggest thing we can do as journalists right now is to reset, go back to doing what we do best, which is being accurate, telling truth and reporting to the American public.” – Jabari (14:14)
• On Persistence:
  • “Closed mouths don’t get fed.” – DJ Envy (02:43)
• On Black Wealth:
  • “I need these stories to be told because I need the next generation to see what’s possible outside of entertainment and sports.” – Jabari (13:03)
  • “According to Nielsen, Black America spending power this year. $2.1 trillion...You have a whole class of black people who can manage it.” – Jabari (32:13)
• On Vetting Credibility:
  • “I had to leave my life alone, and I got to go and dive into someone else...” – Jabari (17:00)

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Segment Timestamps

• [00:56] Jabari’s Philly roots, Stephen A. Smith mentorship story
• [03:31] On being told “no” seeking mentorship; how to respond
• [05:13] How Jabari mentors others; importance of persistence
• [08:19] Stephen A. Smith’s hard advice on leaving sports journalism for business
• [09:41] Real vs. fake business success: who’s worthy of Forbes recognition?
• [13:20] Fear and privacy among Black business leaders; Black 50 list details
• [14:14] Journalist responsibility: honesty and accuracy in disadvantaged communities
• [16:48] Forbes “paid” vs. staff articles; verifying credibility in media
• [17:52] Jabari on deep interview research, referencing Young Guru and The Notorious B.I.G.
• [22:22] Are the super-wealthy happy? Wealth vs. life happiness
• [28:52] Why the Forbes Black 50 is crucial for Black inspiration and network-building
• [31:01] Case studies: Black owners/investors in Walgreens, Hot Topic, The Parking Spot
• [36:32] Visibility/influence of Black leaders for the next generation
• [39:34] Where the next Black billionaires are coming from (private equity, alt investments)
• [40:28] Where to find Jabari’s work: Forbes.com, IG, LinkedIn

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Additional Highlights

• Newsbreak (27:47): Jabari confirms Usher has sold his stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers, which will be detailed in an upcoming Forbes story.
• Behind the Scenes: Charlamagne and Jabari bond over Philly radio days, with some playful exchanges and throwbacks.
• On Social Media: Discussion on how platforms like LinkedIn facilitate deeper, more professional conversations compared to noisier, less substantive platforms.

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Takeaway

Jabari Young’s interview is a resounding call for authentic, ethical journalism and deeper, more visible storytelling around Black wealth and business achievement. His journey exemplifies the value of persistence and mentorship, while his work at Forbes represents a vital effort to spotlight Black business leaders, broaden representation, and plant seeds of inspiration for future generations well beyond the sports and entertainment mainstream.

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Transcript

[Podcast Announcer]

This is an Iheart podcast. Guaranteed human.

[DJ Envy]

That's right. It's DJ Envy.

[Jess Hilarious]

It's your girl, Jess. Hilarious.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And I go by the name of Charlamagne. Tha God. And we are the world's most dangerous morning show at Breakfast Club. You just finished listening to, you know, our podcast for today.

[DJ Envy]

That's right.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And we want you to go watch the visuals on Netflix. You know, we. We're still on YouTube, but it's the clips on YouTube. But if you want to watch the Breakfast Club in full, if you want to see what you just listened to, go to Netflix.

[DJ Envy]

That's right.

[Jess Hilarious]

Find us on Netflix. Sure.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Hold up. Every day I wake up.

[DJ Envy]

Wake your ass up.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

The Breakfast Club. Y' all finished or y' all done?

[DJ Envy]

Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy. Jess. Hilarious. Charlamagne, the guy. We are the Breakfast Club. Lauren Larose is here as well. We got a special guest in the building.

[Jabari Young]

Yes, indeed.

[DJ Envy]

The senior writer and editor at Forbes, Jabari Young. Welcome, brother.

[Jabari Young]

Hey, man. Thank you for having me. This is a nice place.

[Podcast Announcer]

This is really dope.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

This is our new studio. You never been to the old studio?

[DJ Envy]

I haven't been to the old studio.

[Jabari Young]

And in spirit, I was.

[DJ Envy]

Because, you know, I watched y' all

[Jabari Young]

on YouTube coming up as a kid, so.

[DJ Envy]

But this is pretty.

[Jabari Young]

Pretty nice, man.

[DJ Envy]

Well, you are a senior writer and editor at Forbes, so let's start from the story. Well, how'd you get there?

You know, man, you know, we gotta

[Jabari Young]

start all the way from the story, right? I'm originally from North Philly. Okay. And so it stopped. Appreciate that. Thank you. And it started there, you know, as a kid, understanding I wasn't gonna be in the NBA, Right. I didn't have that skill set. And it's like, okay, what's next? And I decided that journalism was it for me. And so back then, you know, you pick up the newspaper, and underneath the news, the bylines, they got the numbers. And I'm like, well, who's this dude?

[DJ Envy]

Stephen A.

[Jabari Young]

And I call up the number, and bam, Stephen A. Picks up. And that changed the trajectory, because learning under him when he was back covering the Sixers in Philly, you kind of understand what you can be. And so I'm looking at him on billboards and just following him, and that kind of motivated me. And then in 2013, I get an opportunity to go to San Antonio, cover San Antonio spurs, and that obviously boosts my trajectory. Spent the year in Portland, covered the blazes in there. And then in 2019, I get a call from CNBC and they say, hey, you want to cover business?

[DJ Envy]

And I'm like, I don't want to cover no business. I don't know what those. The number with the channels, the numbers at the bottom.

[Jabari Young]

And it was Stephen A.

[DJ Envy]

Who called me and said, man, you

[Jabari Young]

don't know what the hell you're doing. You need to really stop and think about it. I was happy in San Antonio, covering Kawhi Leonard, covering Tom Duncan and the Spurs. That was great for me, but I was missing the big picture. And he allowed me to see that to his credit. And then that turned into an opportunity in 2022, and Forbes say, hey, you want to come over here and do that? And I say, yeah, but I don't want to just do sports business. I want to do something else. You know, I want to, you know, take this business thing and really expand it. And what better way to do that through the essence and the lens of your community?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know what's important about that story? I mean, number one, you started in sports, but the fact that you called Stephen A. Yeah, Stephen A. Picked up and then decided to offer you mentorship. Yeah, I don't do that.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah, they don't do it anymore.

[DJ Envy]

I told closed mouths, don't get fit.

[Jabari Young]

Clarence Avon always used to say that, right?

[DJ Envy]

And so you know what's so funny? Being in San Antonio, I met this sister one time, and this is in

[Jabari Young]

the middle of me dating.

[DJ Envy]

And she came. It's the first time I ever heard

[Jabari Young]

of a guy Clarence Avon. And she says, man, I don't know. You remind me of this dude, Clarence Avon.

[DJ Envy]

I'm like, who the hell is that?

[Jabari Young]

And then the Black Godfather comes up, and then I just started studying him and understanding what made him special. And he just solved people's problems, right? And so that just kind of motivated me to, you know, take my career and take my craft and go to the next level with it. And again, I just. I. I enjoy telling business stories about people who look like me.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What was your spiel to Stephen A. Because I want. I want other people that are watching this right now who might be seeking mentorship from certain individuals. What did you say to him that you think made him be like, all right, you know, pull up to the.

[DJ Envy]

Hey, man, can you teach me? I want to learn under you. Like, can you just. You know, but at that time, Charlamagne, like, it was a different time, right?

[Jabari Young]

Stephen A.

[DJ Envy]

Wasn't Stephen A then.

[Jabari Young]

You know, we knew him in Philly because his name was all over the place, and his bill and his face was on the billboards. But we didn't know of him as what y' all see now. He was just a guy in Philly. He was big, so he was more accessible. I had to talk to him on his two way pager, right Back in the day, that's when two way pages existed.

[DJ Envy]

And so, like, you know, I just was. I just went up to him and say, hey, man, like, can you teach me? But not only that one time, you got to do that over and over again. Like, I would be in my aunt's basement on Christmas Eve, calling around people who mentored me that year, just saying, hey, I want that, man. Just wish you a merry Christmas.

[Jabari Young]

I hope you have a great fan. That stuff builds relationships. And so when you do want to pick up the phone and say, hey, man, you know, where's an opportunity for a job? You got those answers because it was Stephen A. Who introduced him to a guy named Mike Bruton. Mike Bruton knows a guy named Mike Larry. Mike Larry was at the inquire. Now in San Antonio. One call gets made on my behalf. Bam. I'm in San Antonio, and my career changes. Wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Charles Barkley would be very, very impressed that you dated a woman from San Antonio.

[DJ Envy]

I mean, listen, every time Barkley said that, I was like, keep saying it. Because I get all this gold right down here, right? Because there's some beautiful women in San Antonio. And I'm like, yo say that, I would retreat it. Yo, he right? Because I wanted the. I wanted it to myself, right? And so there are beautiful people in San Antonio.

[Jabari Young]

Obviously, yes, there are bigger people everywhere. But I have no idea see what

[DJ Envy]

it was that he was always staying downtown. You know, when you go to downtown in any city, that's not the real

[Jabari Young]

representation of where you live.

[DJ Envy]

And so you gotta go on the outskirts. And when you want to outskirts, it's a whole different thing out there. But you see a lot of people down there, and they're downtown. And so your perception of San Antonio might be, oh, this is what it is. Like, no, it's not.

[Jabari Young]

You got to get on the outskirts, and you got to know where people are.

[DJ Envy]

And so, you know, so funny from. From being from Philly, I met up with Malik Rose, who's always in Philly, and he had a whole bunch of

[Jabari Young]

people living down there.

[DJ Envy]

And so it was like, man, this

[Jabari Young]

is a whole bunch of people from Philly that night.

[DJ Envy]

So we came like, you know, damn,

[Jabari Young]

I'm at a second home, you know.

[DJ Envy]

Now you talk about men I'm sorry.

[Jess Hilarious]

When you were calling around for mentorship, were you ever told no? And if so, were you discouraged by that?

[Jabari Young]

Yeah, I was. I was told no sometimes. A couple of ones I kept on email. I'm like, I'm gonna remember this one day. I'll call you up and say, you know what? The hell with you.

[DJ Envy]

But, yeah, of course, because, you know, you'd be thinking that everybody has time.

[Jabari Young]

But then now, being in the position I'm in, I realize that's false. You don't have the time. Like, I'm sure y' all get hit up all the time.

[DJ Envy]

Y' all can't always answer everybody's stuff. You know what I'm saying? And so, like, it was one of

[Jabari Young]

those things where, you know, when I was told no, I just stopped taking it personal. And just like, you know what? I got this crew of mentors over here. I'm gonna just start building with them. And obviously Stephen A. Was a part of that group.

[DJ Envy]

I was gonna ask before you go, but I was gonna ask about mentoring. Do you mentor people now?

[Jabari Young]

Yes.

[DJ Envy]

Because I know the mentoring game has changed a lot. Right? Cause people are more scared now. Cause back then, you could call anybody, you tell somebody to come on the road. But now it seems like things are more structured. You have to go through this protocol. You have to have a resume. You have to graduate from here. When before even working at radio, you wanted to be an intern. Come be an intern.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah. Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

Well, and I'm.

[Jabari Young]

The way I do it is. Is that if you show persistence, then that's when I take you seriously. Because that's what I was. I was emailing people left and right. Yo, man, hey, if you missed that email, hey, just wanted to follow up. You know, you got the time, and I would do that, you know, repetitiously. And so what happened is that people

[DJ Envy]

start to say, man, he's serious. He wants some of my time, right? And so, like, you know, hip hop artists should do that all the time.

[Jabari Young]

That's where it motivated me from, like,

[DJ Envy]

being from Philly, it's like, man, these dudes used to show up at the radio station. I need to do what I need to do to make sure my radio. We went to radio all the time.

Well, I don't know about Charlemagne, but I didn't get paid at first. It wasn't about the money.

I was in Philly.

I just wanted the knowledge.

Yeah, I was in Philly doing radio updates at 100.3 to beat Stephen A E. Stephen Collins.

[Jabari Young]

God, Bless his life was there at that point. And he allowed me to understand the radio lens of it. And just so watching guys like E. Stephen Collins and Stephen A. And people in Philly, Elmer Smith, those

[DJ Envy]

columnists, like, that was. That was. That was it for me.

[Jabari Young]

That was. That was powerful.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I worked at 100.3 to beat as well.

[DJ Envy]

Yeah, I know. I was there.

[Jabari Young]

I was there.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, yeah.

[DJ Envy]

Got fired, right?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, got fired.

[DJ Envy]

I remember that, man. That was a great time, though. You remember when he got fired? Yeah, cuz the Beanie Seagull interview, he played that. And everybody was on Philly like, yo, did you hear that Beanie Seagull interview? It was one of the most interesting times in Philly hip hop, you know, history. And you were part of it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. And they said, jay Z got me fired.

[DJ Envy]

Yeah, Jay got you.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That was the room.

[DJ Envy]

Did you ever confirm that that was true?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That was the first question we asked him when Jay Z came in. I remember that.

[DJ Envy]

He didn't. He didn't say anything.

I don't remember what he said.

[Jabari Young]

No.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, he said no.

[DJ Envy]

I thought he just laughed it off.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, he said no.

[Jabari Young]

And.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And. And I remember another time we had a conversation about. He was like, yo, did I really get you fired?

[DJ Envy]

But it worked out for you, though.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I think so.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah, it does. It worked out.

[DJ Envy]

Doing all right.

[Podcast Announcer]

I don't even remember. I think I was going to ask you about when you said, oh, when Stephen A. Smith first called you and said that you were thinking about things wrong or you were doing it wrong. What was the first conversation after that? Like, what was the breakdown to build back up, like, for you with him?

[Jabari Young]

Well, you know, that was a rough conversation to have. I was pulling into my aunt's house in Dallas visiting her, and I get the call late at night, and he's

[DJ Envy]

like, yo, man, CNBC's calling me up. And they, you know, because I put

[Jabari Young]

him as a reference. What's this about?

[DJ Envy]

And I'm like, I don't know, man. I'm just, you know, I'm down in San Antonio. I like covering the Spurs. I just broke the Kawhi Leonard joint. And, you know, RC Beauty. Yeah, you know, all that, right. All that Charlemagne, you know. And so he says, you know, jabari Young, the hell with that. The spurs ain't gonna do a damn thing for you. And so I'm looking at the phone like, damn, why Stephen ain't talking to me like this? I'm kind of like, you know, talk. Taking aback.

[Jabari Young]

And then, you know.

[DJ Envy]

But when a Mentor talks to you

[Jabari Young]

like that, then that's when you really gotta say, damn, he's only doing that because he cares.

[DJ Envy]

Say it again.

[Jabari Young]

He's doing it because he cares. Yeah, right. And you gotta hear those things that you don't want to hear. That's true mentorship. Thus, people, that's really in your corner. And so I hung up the phone, and I just was like, damn, let

[DJ Envy]

me just step back. And I took a trip to Portland,

[Jabari Young]

because up there, great waterfalls, mountains. Phenomenal. Just to go hiking and just to clear my mind. And at that point, I'm like, man, you know what? This could be big, man at cnbc. This is business.

[DJ Envy]

I could set my daughter up for

[Jabari Young]

building networks in Wall Street.

[DJ Envy]

Like, damn, this is big.

[Jabari Young]

And so I'm glad I did, because if I don't take that position, I don't meet you. We not at the Nasdaq, and I'm not doing that story that was published on you. Absolutely.

[DJ Envy]

That's dope.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Absolutely. You know, a lot of creators want Forbes recognition, right? Like, what separates real business builders from people who are just good at, like, marketing success.

[Jabari Young]

Time. I was just with Usher in Detroit, and, you know, he was up there for his event. I spent about you know, two days. And you know what I told him was. And he was coming right from the Grammys, I believe, in Detroit, where it's

[DJ Envy]

snowing, it's cold, they're there for boys and girls. Yeah, they was there for the Boys and Girls Club opening.

[Jabari Young]

And that's what separates those who are serious about doing business and those who are not, right? If you make the time, you made the time. Right? Because you were serious about your business. If you didn't make the time, I don't write that article. I don't even bother with you, because at that point, I know you're just a pitch person. This person don't know nothing about his business. He's not even willing to make the time to talk about it because he don't know. Right? And so that's what makes it for me, is it's the time. If you're willing to make the time, and if you're willing to sit down and we can go over it and talk about it and you invite me in, then that's what the real business

[DJ Envy]

people are doing, because they want you

[Jabari Young]

to see it, right?

[DJ Envy]

Yo Gotti made the time. He was at his house, made the time.

[Jabari Young]

Meg Thee Stallion made the time, right? And so when you make the time, then that's when I know your business is Real.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That makes so much sense. I just saw, I read the Forbes article last night on Kevin Hart and his tequila and I guess how much revenue it's made, right? And it was him and his two business partners. And I, you know, of course you think that, okay, you got to take time to do the interview, but what you're saying is true. Like, if you really want somebody to know the business, know about the business, you sit down and make time for them.

[Jabari Young]

Didn't you do that?

[DJ Envy]

I mean, how many conversations do we have, right? How many in the store, in a comic book store, right?

[Jabari Young]

We, we broke it down.

[DJ Envy]

We made the time.

[Jabari Young]

And you took me through your process,

[DJ Envy]

you know, and then obviously talking to analysts and all that stuff to follow up on it. But you got to make the time for all that stuff because I'm using my time, right? A part of what makes me feel

[Jabari Young]

for me as a journalist is that when you, especially at the magazine, you have to leave your life and your world and go integrate yourself in somebody else's world so you can explain it to the public better. And so I have to leave my daughter. I can't be with her all the time because I'm in there in Charlemagne's world, and I don't have time for my world, right?

[DJ Envy]

It is a pro and a kind. But if I'm making the time and I'm taking time away from my family, you got to make the time, too,

[Jabari Young]

especially if you want this article. So you can understand and people in the business world can understand that you're serious.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

But see, I think that that's more of a testament to you as a journalist, right? Because like, some journalists don't take the time.

[Jabari Young]

No, not anymore. Not anymore. Yeah. And that's, that's the unfortunate part about what I see happening to my business, you know, and especially the writing part. Nobody's making the time. Nobody's paying that extra effort to make that extra call, verify things, really sit down and do the research, find out where those numbers are, right? You have to do that. It takes a lot of time to do it. Weekends spending nights, right? If I can't sleep at night, two o' clock in the morning, I'm up working, right? Because Quincy Jones did that, right? You go watch his documentary, always said

[DJ Envy]

at nighttime the muses come out, right? So it's like, you know, you got

[Jabari Young]

to make the time. And if you make the time, I know you're serious, and I think a great story will come out of it.

[DJ Envy]

How many people have you reached out to that did not necessarily want to do the story because they were fearful of the information being out there.

[Jabari Young]

A lot, A lot. The very list that we coming out with, the Force Blk 50 list, there were people on there like, no, no, no, don't do that. Cause we releasing. We got two new billionaires that the public doesn't know about. Right. And so all the time.

[DJ Envy]

And I respect it.

[Jabari Young]

I do. But we're in an age now, especially in black America, where I need these stories to be told because I need the next generation to see what's possible outside of entertainment and sports. Right? There are people that are making a lot of money and business, doing a lot of good things, making more money and have more money than athletes combined. Right. And y' all need to know what they do with where they come from, who they are, so you can mimic them because. Because you might have a good mentor that's sitting right there on this list.

[DJ Envy]

But also they can be attacked, Right. We see a lot of our. Especially our black celebrities and our black businessmen being attacked like crazy.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

So I understand why some people would say, you know what? I don't want to put it out there. I want to help. I don't want to be attacked.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah, I understand that. And again, that's one of those ones where you fight that battle. But as a journalist, I have a story to tell. Right. And that's why I say, you know what? It makes more sense if you cooperate so the story can get told accurately. Because if you don't, then we go by my perception, my narrative, and that might be not all the way 100%.

[DJ Envy]

So, you know, but it's up to them, right?

[Jabari Young]

If they want to cooperate. If they do. If they don't, we have enough power at Forbes in our database to see who you are and see the data, what we need, and go report the stuff we do.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, we do. What responsibility, you know, piggybacking off any question. What responsibility do journalists have when covering wealth in communities that are still dealing with systemic economic trauma?

[Jabari Young]

Be honest, right? Continue to be honest and tell the story accurately. We're in this age. We have another pandemic. People think pandemics are just health, but a pandemic is anything that impacts people. Right? And so we're in this misinformation pandemic. And so the biggest thing we can do as journalists right now is to reset, go back to doing what we do best, which is being accurate, telling truth and reporting to the American public. I'm not a celebrity. I don't want to be there.

[DJ Envy]

I don't, I didn't.

[Jabari Young]

I don't do it for that. I do it because I have a job to do. So American public and I have a job to do in this position to the people that look like me in black America. Right. If I'm not here, I don't know who tells our stories like that.

[DJ Envy]

Right.

[Jabari Young]

You go to look at Bloomberg and the CNBCs of the world, I see us on there from time to time.

[DJ Envy]

We're sprinkled in.

[Jabari Young]

Right. But we not on here all the time.

[DJ Envy]

And it's like when I see these conversations, they're having conversations amongst each other. We're not at the table. And so I wanted to make sure

[Jabari Young]

that this platform, as a journalist, say, hey, I want to have these business stories so our community to have a seat at the table. But also I want to make sure that we're reporting on the things that need to be reported on. If it's some wrongdoing that's getting done, we need to be reporting on it. If it's things that's not accurate in business. Right. We don't go outside of the lens of business because that's not our pillar. But we want to report on it accurately, honestly. And again, our job is to report to the American public. My job is to report to black America.

[DJ Envy]

I wanted to ask too, you know, I know you're not everything Forbes, but just like the Harvard Business School, right? There's a Harvard, and people talk about they go to Harvard and they talk about they go to business school. And then there's a course that they could pay online. And everybody says, I got my Harvard degree and it's a course you pay $1,000 for. Right. I see a lot of people do these Forbes interviews. Right. And I feel like that's kind of the same. Same thing.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

Is that true? Does that happen?

[Jabari Young]

Well, what do you mean?

[DJ Envy]

Did you see that as well?

[Podcast Announcer]

Cause there's a. There's a part of Forbes where some businesses can buy, like, ads or make it look like it's an actual, like, written article.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah. So those are more contributor types. More. So you see, you see them before, right?

[DJ Envy]

Yeah, I know what you're talking about. There's no way that person's on Forbes.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

And I see what you're saying. And that's the power.

[Jabari Young]

That's both the positive and maybe the negative of the brand. Right. Because it's so big. And I guess that's the. It gets mimicked a lot. Right. But there is a brand voice that we have, that people can pay to, you know, represent, present their perspective in their company. That's a whole nother lens where that's the business thing. It's not necessarily journalism per se, more so giving you a voice in a platform that you pay for. And because it's Forbes, people are going to pay attention. But for me, being a staff writer, having my name show up in the magazine as that senior writer, for me, that's my goal card.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

How do you. Okay, so how do you vet credibility in an era where narratives. Narratives are curated, social media numbers are inflated.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

How do you. How do you.

[Jabari Young]

Same. What I did was you.

[DJ Envy]

You talk to people around you. You talk to, you know, and I do my research. And, you know, you go back and you look, you know, so, you know, that's how you find out if you were credible. Like, you know, you got to really dig into people's lives. So I said, you got to leave. I had to leave my life alone, and I got to go and dive into someone else. Like, I had to start from the very beginning with you all the way back to South Carolina. Now, it was a little bit easier

[Jabari Young]

because I recognize your work from Philly,

[DJ Envy]

but, I mean, you talk about listening to old Wendy Williams interviews, trying to find something. You know what told me that story? Young Guru, right? He had a piece, and he was on a podcast back in the day,

[Jabari Young]

and this really made me take my craft seriously, where he was kind of talking about how big would go into a studio, and before he wrote anything, he would just listen to the track over and over and over and over again, trying to find that thing, that thing that made it great.

[DJ Envy]

And so what I do when I copy that, and I just say, you know what?

[Jabari Young]

When I find a great interview, when I find two or three great interviews, that's what I do. I sit on my couch, I play

[DJ Envy]

Madden on Saturdays and Sundays, and I

[Jabari Young]

listen to the interview over and over

[DJ Envy]

and over again because I'm feeling like it's something there.

What's missing right now?

What's missing that I can take and magnify it.

[Jabari Young]

And with him, it was that comic thing.

[DJ Envy]

You know, you hear him say something

[Jabari Young]

about comics and how his daughter was interested.

[DJ Envy]

Like, man, I'm not the biggest comic aficionado, but I had to go dive

[Jabari Young]

into that world, right? And so, again, the credibility thing, you find out if people are. Is not doing your research, and you know that it's tedious.

[Podcast Announcer]

How do you handle when you have to write the other stories where it's like you having to talk about the negatives of a business or things that you find that aren't all the way. Right. And it's in the community.

[Jess Hilarious]

Right.

[Podcast Announcer]

And you're putting that out there.

[Jabari Young]

I mean, listen, that's one of the parts of the job I don't always enjoy it. Right. I mean, it was classic example of this is, you know, when, you know, Bishop T.D. jakes, his deal with Wells Fargo, right? Now, if you look at the history of Wells Fargo, Wells Fargo doesn't have the best history with black folks. Right. Especially when it comes to mortgages. And he's tied to that. And so you have to bring that up, you have to report on that. Hey, you doing business with Wells Fargo.

[DJ Envy]

But they have a history of not being so. So you're built sending all these people to Wells Fargo to get mortgages. But Wells Fargo hadn't had the best record at that point of helping black America.

[Jabari Young]

Right. This is just accurate. This is facts.

[DJ Envy]

And so, you know, when you have to write that, it is uncomfortable at

[Jabari Young]

times, but again, it's facts. So I only go by the facts. And, you know, I let them speak for itself. But you do give people the opportunity to respond. And that's what I think is missing in today's. Nobody calls anybody anymore. Nobody's asking for response, nobody's asking for comment. They just run into it because they want the viral clip, they want the viral social media moment. They want to say, oh, reported this. And it's like it's wrong. One of your nemesis does that all the time. Person's name, but all the time, right?

[Jess Hilarious]

I mean, don't think, don't even think.

[Jabari Young]

You don't have to think about it.

[Podcast Announcer]

Yeah, it's a lot of nemesis.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't have a lot of nemesis.

[DJ Envy]

But you have one, you have one that. And, and I guess she really doesn't

[Jabari Young]

like you a lot.

[DJ Envy]

So that's why I said right. But it's that type of stuff that. It's that type of stuff, I'll tell you off the air the way Jay did, but that's that type of stuff

[Jabari Young]

that you have to not pay too much attention to because they'll lead you down a road where you're writing something wrong. And it's just so you gotta really sit back.

[DJ Envy]

But the crazy thing about that is I respect you for saying that. Cause a lot of journalists and Charlemagne and myself have dealt with it. Even just where they follow something that somebody said online and people believe it's facts.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

And journalists go with it. And the problem with journalists go with it is because people come to you, the facts, right? They go to the podcasters, the streamers, the influencers, whatever they wanna call them, the people online that say they are and they spew all types of untruths. But when the actual journalist picks it up and reports it now becomes true, amplifies, and it amplifies it. And that's one thing I'm glad, because I think a lot of journalists now don't do their research, and it hurts people in a major way.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah, I always wanna stay away from that. I mean, that's a big thing. That's like one of those rules, commandments, if you will, of journalism. Right. You're obviously not supposed to reveal your sources.

[DJ Envy]

That's.

[Jabari Young]

That's huge. And, you know, accuracy is huge. If you're inaccurate, that really bothers your name. Now, I've been wrong before. Don't get me wrong. I've been wrong before. But then that's when you, hey, I was. I was mistaken, you know, But I don't go to a point where I'm looking at sources that are just not credible. When I talk to people, to industry people, like, no, don't listen to that person. Like, that's. That's where you really have to dig into the trenches. And again, because we're in a media world where everybody wants to be seen, nobody takes those extra steps. It's almost like everybody wants to be as great as Kobe. But how many people were willing to put the work in like he did? Right? How many people are willing to put the work in like Steph did, taking hundreds of shots behind the arc like that.

[DJ Envy]

How many people want to be first, too?

[Jabari Young]

That's. And that's the thing. They want to be first. And I'd rather be last. Right.

[DJ Envy]

Correct.

[Jabari Young]

Informative, insightful.

[DJ Envy]

Everybody can say, oh, they go, a fire. But how many people can say how

[Jabari Young]

many people died in that fire, what the cause of the fire is and then follow up on it. What's going to happen to that property after the fire? What's going to happen to that community? That's journalism.

[Jess Hilarious]

So you're not supposed to cite your sources.

[DJ Envy]

No, you're supposed to cite your sources when you know, you're trying to verify it. But if it's. If it was behind the scenes, just for verification. Yeah, if somebody's telling you something, you

[Jabari Young]

don't use their name. They say, hey, man, keep my name out of this. But so. And so that's when you protect them.

[DJ Envy]

Right.

[Jabari Young]

You're not Supposed to reveal them, because

[DJ Envy]

if you do, then nobody's ever going

[Jabari Young]

to trust you again.

[Jess Hilarious]

Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

Now, when you talk to a lot of these, I guess, wealthy people, whether they're millionaires, billionaires, people on the Forbes.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

Are they happy? And the reason I ask is sometimes a lot of people say making all that money, they forget the finer things in life, which is usually family. And you see that a lot with people. So do people seem happy to you?

And are you happy?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Very.

[DJ Envy]

Well, he's happy.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

That's big.

I don't appreciate all this bald head bonding going on over there. We gotta stick together, man.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

We'll take your hat off and join us.

[DJ Envy]

Do people seem happy or is it only focused on.

[Jabari Young]

They do. Envy.

[DJ Envy]

They seem happy, man, but it's like, you can't really tell because they could

[Jabari Young]

be putting up a front because it's Forbes. So they want to always, you know, make it seem happy, like they're doing great.

[DJ Envy]

But I've heard horror stories. John Hope Bryant always says that, like, there are a lot of people behind us. He's a lot of money. That are not happy and so rich in life. Absolutely. And so sometimes I'll call a few of them and I'm real. The day I'll call them is on New Year's Day.

[Jabari Young]

Right.

[DJ Envy]

Because New Year's Day is such a calm day. But it's a great day to catch up with people because everybody's home. Yeah, everybody's home. And I'll call her up. Hey, man, thanks for calling me.

[Jabari Young]

Nobody's ever heard from anybody.

[DJ Envy]

It's like, you know, so you gotta treat them like human beings and check on them from time to time just

[Jabari Young]

to show that, you know, this is a relationship. But some of them may probably be unhappy.

[DJ Envy]

And I would think because they got

[Jabari Young]

so much money where you trapped, you can't go nowhere. Like, I took the sub here today. The minute I can stop doing that,

[DJ Envy]

I don't know, my nigga, I ain't

taking the sub now.

I mean, I can.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You can't.

[Jabari Young]

I can, but I don't want to.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Well, yeah,

[Podcast Announcer]

It's just too many people.

[Jabari Young]

But I like to. I want to be like.

[DJ Envy]

I want to be because I like the people.

[Jabari Young]

Watch. I want to see.

[DJ Envy]

I don't need to see a rat.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Nah. Yeah.

[Jess Hilarious]

You know.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know what scared me from the subways in New York is when after 9, 11, everybody kept saying, the next terrorist attack, it's going to be the train. I was like, hell, I never got on the subway since that it's too easy.

[DJ Envy]

Yeah, it's too easy. I think about it all the time.

[Jabari Young]

If you see the movie, the Leave

[DJ Envy]

the World behind on Netflix, I actually

[Jabari Young]

think it's gonna be cyber attack.

[DJ Envy]

Like think about that. Like those planes was coming down. But I like taking this up and again it lets you people watch and

[Jabari Young]

it keeps me kind of like, you know, level headed.

[Podcast Announcer]

Where do you, when you're sourcing, like what you're going to talk about, where do you get most of your leads from? Like what inspires your story?

[DJ Envy]

Just looking around, right?

[Jabari Young]

I look at every morning, I usually go on Google's trend and Google trend

[DJ Envy]

is great because you get to see what America is looking at, what they're searching for. And, and then, you know, I look at that and sometimes it's like, all

[Jabari Young]

right, everybody's paying attention to that. Let me see what's on the left. And you know, you just kind of

[DJ Envy]

look around and just find different things. And you know, a lot of time

[Jabari Young]

when I find a project, it take me a while, you know, to do it. So you know, the, we have this list. The next piece I'm writing on is the Usher. But you know, you just, you look

[DJ Envy]

around and see what's going on. And then people sending you pictures and

[Jabari Young]

then you're like, hey, wait a minute.

[DJ Envy]

For example, they sent me a pitch celebrating Black Effect five year anniversary. And I'm thinking like, no, there's a bigger story here. Let's dive into this. And people know who Charlamagne the God is. I think this is, this is a great business piece here and I hope I was right.

Did they ever send you the picture of Charlemagne sitting on Wendy Williams lap?

[Jabari Young]

No, I didn't see that.

[Jess Hilarious]

You didn't? Child, please, come on, Jabari.

[DJ Envy]

I didn't see it. Come on.

[Jabari Young]

I didn't see that.

[DJ Envy]

Because you didn't do your research. I didn't see that. I didn't see that.

[Jabari Young]

That for peace.

[Jess Hilarious]

Cuz that.

[DJ Envy]

No, he just, I, I just remember the Jennifer Lopez thing.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

I was, I kept looking at that one. Like, man, you know why you want

[Charlamagne Tha God]

to know what it smelled like?

[DJ Envy]

I like he never said what it was. Let me, let me find out what it is, right?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I want to ask him in the name of journalism, how did it say

[DJ Envy]

that's what it is?

[Jabari Young]

Right.

[DJ Envy]

That's a perfect lead, right? If it smells like roses or something like that.

[Podcast Announcer]

What surprised you most when you did the article when you met him about Charlamagne?

[DJ Envy]

You know, he, he's very protective of his Family in his space.

[Jabari Young]

Absolutely.

[DJ Envy]

I. I've never really saw that of.

[Jabari Young]

Of him before. Wow.

[DJ Envy]

That's a real picture.

[Podcast Announcer]

That price.

[DJ Envy]

And you kind of look like you're

[Jabari Young]

smiling a little bit.

[DJ Envy]

You don't smile.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Top of the world, baby.

[Jess Hilarious]

No, he's hurting.

[DJ Envy]

So we joke up here, too.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Top of the world on Whitby, Black man.

[DJ Envy]

Top of the world.

[Jabari Young]

He's very.

[DJ Envy]

He's very protective of his family.

[Jabari Young]

Charlamagne.

[DJ Envy]

Because usually I always ask people if

[Jabari Young]

I always want to be invited to your house. I feel like if you're. If Forbes, we should be invited to your house. Did that.

[Podcast Announcer]

You go to his house?

[Jabari Young]

No, that's what it was.

[DJ Envy]

And so I was trying to figure out. I said, man, what does this dude live in a bat cave or something like that? And so, you know, but that was what it was.

[Jabari Young]

But I respect that, though, because me having a daughter, when she was first born, I would always tell my family, if you take a picture, please leave it off the Internet. I don't want my daughter on it. I want her to enjoy her childhood. She's going to have that opportunity to. So when he said it, and I know I'm a girl dad, too, and he has girls, that's when I'm like, yeah, okay. And then it was great. I have a phrase. It's not happening to you. It's happening for you. Right? And so I'm like, all right, what is the. The opportunity here? And the comic book thing was gold for me. And so I'm glad. I'm almost glad that he rejected me coming to his house. Thank you.

[Jess Hilarious]

You said you was about to do something with Usher. What happened with Usher?

[DJ Envy]

Well, he started. You know, they have the Boys and

[Jabari Young]

Girls Club in Detroit as a foundation out there, and they're doing a lot of work. And Usher's been doing that, you know, for 20 plus years now, making the time. And I feel like it's time to tell a great business story around what he's doing and what he's trying to do with his foundation. And, you know, again, the fact that it's in Detroit, not in Atlanta, you know, not in where he grew up in. In Dallas and, you know. No, down south. He grew up in Tennessee. Yeah, Tennessee.

[DJ Envy]

Not them.

[Jabari Young]

But I was thinking, because he owned

[DJ Envy]

part of the Cavaliers.

No, he sold.

[Jess Hilarious]

Oh, wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Oh, he sold his portion of the Cavaliers.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah. Now, y', all, breaking news. Yeah, he has sold that.

[DJ Envy]

Yeah, he sold it.

[Jabari Young]

Told me at the top of the year.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Wow. He got some cakes.

[DJ Envy]

How much?

[Jabari Young]

I can't tell you that now because I'm. That's going to be in the story.

[DJ Envy]

But I told y' all he sold it, though. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what he told me.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What's so interesting about that is when you do that interview and that article comes out, it is literally our job to amplify stuff like that, because we will amplify the bad news. Some bullshit happened at the Boys and Girls Club with us. Couldn't wait to come in here and talk about it.

[Jabari Young]

So you have to amplify stories like that and charlamagne. That's exactly why. First of all, I appreciate the opportunity to come here, but that's the. And you know, I'm so proud of the work that we're doing because, you know, we can look up negativity around black people. All. All you gotta do is open Instagram, look on Twitter or X, whatever the hell it is. But you don't see enough of our prominent individuals outside of the space of entertainment and sports, doing great work. Right. Doing great business. Right. And some of them want to be found. But then I guess some of them are. People aren't just paying attention to them, but I am.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Let's talk about the 4 black 50. Why is a list like the 4 black 50 so important in. In, like, this social climate?

[Jabari Young]

Because it offers you an opportunity to see what's going on in the world of alternate investments, private equity, private credit, venture capital. You're seeing people with assets under management that's controlling money. You know, one comment that was made for me was, is if you see a black individual managing a billion dollars for someone, right?

[DJ Envy]

White, black, Hispanic, doesn't matter.

[Jabari Young]

That's big in this country. A billion dollars, right? And so I wanted to just amplify those people who are doing it, right? They have assets under management, they're raising money. You know how hard it is to go out and ask people for millions of dollars to raise money, right?

[DJ Envy]

And the fact that these individuals did it and look at the assets under management that he's accumulated, it's like we

[Jabari Young]

need to really be talking about these individuals. And not only that, amplifying them. Right.

[DJ Envy]

And putting them on the map so we can create our next wave.

[Jabari Young]

As John o' Brien always like to say, civil rights over civil rights, right? Our next wave of leaders in the business community. And hopefully this list helps accomplish that. Hopefully this list helps improve the ecosystem. Because a lot of times we don't know each other either. We got people doing stuff here, doing over there. And I feel like that's one of the bad things about our community, right? We're so, you know, spread out and not knowing each other. And hopefully, this list improves the ecosystem, and it just gives that next generation of an individual that's in black America, you know, say, hey, you know what?

[DJ Envy]

I might want to go this route.

And that's the thing, amplifying everything. Like, you grew up in Philly, growing up in Queens, like, what do you see? You see the local drug dealers, of course, you see basketball players, you see rappers, and that's what your mind is set upon, because that's all you see all the time. But seeing these other individuals and how they make money and what they do is always a story that you try to throw in a kid's mind because you can say, you're better than just this. You're better than just that. You can do this.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

And the reason this list is important

[Jabari Young]

for me, too, is that, you know, I don't know how many of y' all go into Hot Topic or in the mall or, you know, it's still around, right?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I used to work in demo. Remember Demo?

[Jabari Young]

Of course. Yeah. Express Staples. It was a brother who owned all that.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Wow.

[Jabari Young]

Right? He took Walgreens public. Well, it was public. He took it private last year, right? His name is Stefan Kaluzi of Sycamore Partners.

[DJ Envy]

And people understand, like, you go into Walgreens in a pharmacy, you have to understand that there is a African American,

[Jabari Young]

there is a black individual that's a part of that ownership group, right? And so to me, that's important.

[DJ Envy]

That's important because now, now my daughter loves Hot Topic. I have no problem taking her there,

[Jabari Young]

because I know the money, right, is at least going to someone that looks like me who is in that ownership group. Martin Nesbitt, right, Of this year, group in Chicago, best friends with Obama, right? Starts a private equity firm. You heard of the parking spot that little off airport lot?

[Jess Hilarious]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jabari Young]

He sold it, right? And now he owns companies through a private equity group. Very good friends with Obama, right?

[DJ Envy]

Met Obama over basketball and a night of Scrabble. They had no idea who each other was.

[Jabari Young]

And now here he is up in Chicago doing work. Everybody knows about Robert Smith and private equity, right? And so it's those individuals, you know, Bob Johnson, obviously, we know him creating bet.

[DJ Envy]

How many people knew he had a

[Jabari Young]

private equity firm with car dealerships, stores, all of that.

[DJ Envy]

And so, you know, we have a sister on there who owns storage units and Tammy Jones, right? Storage units, nursing homes.

[Jabari Young]

These are individuals that you Know, I think not only you need to know who they are, but you need to reach out to them, follow their moves. Right. Because think about that.

[DJ Envy]

Nielsen.

[Jabari Young]

According to Nielsen, Black America spending power this year. $2.1 trillion. That's a lot of money. Right. You have a whole class of black people who can manage it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I'm glad you're having this conversation, Jabari, because I hate. I feel like there's a whole ecosystem of niggas.

[Jabari Young]

Oh, my God.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Who are making a living telling black people they don't got shit.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know, y' all don't own nothing.

[DJ Envy]

You know, you don't own no bit.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Like, who are y' all following? Yeah, like, I see a whole ecosyste system of black people that are doing great things. Like, why are you not highlighting them?

[Jabari Young]

Yeah, because it's not highlighted enough. And. And again, we don't have enough people in news organizations, especially business organizations that look like me. You just hilarious on envy, like, you know, or Lauren. We don't have that. Right. And so that's why I'm very proud of the brand I represent. Because we do. And it's important to have it at the writing aspect. Anybody could do a podcast and that's great, and do the video, but to write it is permanent almost. If feels realer. Right. Nobody could take that from you. It's an ink. Right. And so, like, it's important to keep those stories alive going around because, you

[DJ Envy]

know, like, we got a whole group of people coming up. And again, they might not want to go into entertainment or sports. Let's create these other jobs and these

[Jabari Young]

other careers or expose them to it more keyword exposure and, you know, see what it.

[DJ Envy]

See what happens.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Gotta get you on these pods too, though. Cause niggas don't read. And that's the problem.

[Podcast Announcer]

No, for real. I was gonna ask you though.

[Jabari Young]

Right.

[Podcast Announcer]

So you just talked about where people are getting their information from, whether they're reading a podcast. So right now we're seeing a lot of even written publications getting rid of their. The black teams. Right. How do these new age journalists get to a point where they can amplify those stories when podcasting? There's a lot of them out there and they're not able to get the jobs at the same time. You have the tick tocks. But now social media stuff is becoming. Where you can't verify everything. Like, what is that? Like, straight through lane of new media. We thought we figured it out, but now it's getting blurry. What is that?

[Jabari Young]

I don't Even know if there's an answer to it at the present time right now. It's just, it's one of those ones things where the chaos, we're in the middle of it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Lord have mercy.

[Jabari Young]

Right? And so you have to, you know, figure it out while you're in the middle of it. I think it's important that local newspapers still are relevant. I think that there's still a lot of them around. Black newspapers, they are shrinking, but I think that they still have to be relevant. But now it becomes, it's almost like back in the day. I remember Datpith, when you used to

[DJ Envy]

always go on, yeah, you had to actually search for it, right? You know, you had to search. That's how I found Walker Flock. That's how I found, you know, currency and Wiz Khalifa. Like I had to search for it.

[Jabari Young]

It's no different in media today, right? You got to search for it. And then, you know, this is why brands are important. The Forbes of the world are important because those are established brands and we use ink. You have no idea.

[DJ Envy]

When we put out an article, I got lawyers calling me, I got a fact check. They where Charlamagne get that from, where prove it. Right? And so that's what I appreciate because

[Jabari Young]

I know when I, when that goes out to the world is accurate, is real. And so it's no different than adaptive days. You got to search for what's real out there. And I think there's a lot of great up and coming journalists that may not be tied to legacy media companies, but they're out there and they're doing some great work and, and it's not fair to, you know, push them aside because they don't work for the Forbes of the world if they're doing some

[DJ Envy]

great reporting like the journalists out in Minnesota who exposed that, you know, fraud. That's great journalism, right? He look, he followed up, he followed the paper trail.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's right.

[Jabari Young]

That's great journalism. And so I think as we enter into chaos, we cannot leave out those voices. We have to still, you know, promote those individuals who are out doing great journalism, although they may not be working for a legacy media company.

[Jess Hilarious]

Did you ever, did you ever experience any pushback for creating a list as such, like, you know, black leaders and

[Jabari Young]

entrepreneurs, you get them on the X apps of the world. Oh, Forrest, Chris, this lesson.

[DJ Envy]

Black and this and that. And it's like, well, we're not talking to you. So it's like, you know, if you ever want to train and you talking to your friend and somebody says, well,

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I would do with this.

[DJ Envy]

Is looking at him like, was I talking to you? Why are you in this conversation?

Right?

And so you get that type of

[Jabari Young]

pushback, but you ignore it because I'm

[DJ Envy]

not talking to you.

[Jabari Young]

We talking to some other people. And if there's anything other ethnic groups should look at this list and study from it, too. They might find something that they know. It's. Nobody saying it's inclusive of you looking at it and learning from it and studying these people.

[DJ Envy]

It's just, this is a list for us.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It matters, man. I remember being. Man, I was a kid, and I remember when Diddy, Will Smith, and I think Master P were all on the Forbes list at one time.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And that was like. Oh, Like, I didn't think, you know, rapping or being. Doing. Being in hip hop could even get you to that level. So it does. You know, it's a business. It does inspire you and say, it does spark something in you. You know, whether you want to be an entertainer or not. Just seeing a black person in that position, you like, whoa.

[Jabari Young]

You kind of echoed your own voice. Because earlier in our conversation, I asked you, I said, hey, why do you even want this? And it was because you wanted more people to see what they can be. And I'm telling you, the metrics that, you know, I look at that story, I don't really read comments, but you see some of them, they all come from South Carolina. There are people.

[DJ Envy]

There's a group of people in South

[Jabari Young]

Carolina that really enjoy that. And I can only imagine what that does, what that does to the young kid out there who may not have known who Charlemagne is or may not even knew he came from South Carolina.

[DJ Envy]

But now all of a sudden, he

[Jabari Young]

does what that does to his trajectory, what that does to his mindset. Right.

[DJ Envy]

Knowing that, man, this dude started where

[Jabari Young]

he was started from, and he's on Forbes.

[DJ Envy]

Kid from a dirt road with no shoes on.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It was actually two black people who had been on the Forbes list before. And the COVID Who told me that.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Who told me why you told me that.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah, exactly. And it gets back down to the list. Exposure, letting people see it, you know, And I'm sure people didn't have understood that he had business like that. Right. But that exposure part, I love the fact that he owns restaurant franchises. Junior Bridgman became a billionaire like that.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yes, he did.

[DJ Envy]

And I would love to see more people do that. How many times you go to the communities we grew up in, you still

[Jabari Young]

see that same McDonald's there, right?

[DJ Envy]

Like, man, I don't even think about if you owned it. Right? And so it's like, I love that he's doing that because restaurant franchises is not going anywhere.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's right.

[Jabari Young]

Right.

[DJ Envy]

It's coins and stand. And so I feel like, you know, it's those types.

[Jabari Young]

Red Lobster, too. Right.

[DJ Envy]

But there are ones that remain. You know what I mean? And so I feel like, again, it's

[Jabari Young]

important that young people see what he's doing.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Oh, hold on. That brother. What's the brother's name from Red Lobster? I can't remember his name.

[Jabari Young]

The CEO.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, look up his name.

[Jess Hilarious]

He came up here.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He was up here. That interview we did with him on Breakfast Club. Like, I just. Yeah, Damala.

[DJ Envy]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I saw how that inspired people. Because people don't see that. Nobody thought that. Oh, the CEO of Red Lobster, the black man.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Like, stuff like that changes.

[DJ Envy]

That's right.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

People's mindsets, man. Puts people on a different trajectory, I think.

[Jabari Young]

So CEO of Lowe's.

[DJ Envy]

Black.

[Jabari Young]

Right.

[DJ Envy]

I mean, so it's like those people.

[Jabari Young]

Calvin Butler, CEO of a major electric company, is black. Right.

[DJ Envy]

And so, you know, there's a lot of.

[Jabari Young]

Again, there's a lot of CEOs, a lot of millionaires and billionaires that look like us that people just aren't paying attention to. But, you know, I am. I'm paying attention to it now. And I'm glad that the stories are being told, because I'm not gonna be at Forbes forever. I have other dreams and ambitions, but I wanna leave behind something that you can go back to it and, you know, see the breadcrumbs I left behind so it can inspire the next generation of business leaders.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What industry is quietly producing the next wave of billionaires? You don't even gotta say, I don't gotta be billionaires, but just 100 millionaires.

[Jabari Young]

The list that I just put out, private equity, okay? Venture capital, private credit. Those people behind the scenes, knowing alt investment, I think those are the. That's the sector that you're going to see a lot of millionaires and billionaires come out of. You raising money, investing it, and, you know, you're going out and multiplying in gold.

[DJ Envy]

This is sister.

[Jabari Young]

Sharice Clark, Harborview Equity Partners. People don't understand how many music catalogs she owns, Right? Nelly was Khalifa.

[DJ Envy]

The list goes on and on and on.

[Jabari Young]

And so she took that, raised money, and now running a firm with over $2 billion in assets under management, all

[DJ Envy]

off the back of music catalogs. Bruno Mars as Well, so while you listen to all this music that plays up here, there's a sister in Newark

[Jabari Young]

getting rich off of it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

At least it's a sister.

[Jabari Young]

There you go. Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

How do we amplify your work, Jabari? Where can they follow you? Where can they get your stuff?

[DJ Envy]

Listen, man, Forbes.com, you know, Forbes be okay again.

[Jabari Young]

Forbes be okay. 50 is out. And you know, JB underscore young on Instagram and that's that on LinkedIn too.

[DJ Envy]

Y' all need to get back on. Y' all need to get on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a dope. Is a dope platform.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah, LinkedIn is great. Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

I gotta follow you on LinkedIn.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

LinkedIn is one of the conversations they

[Podcast Announcer]

have on LinkedIn are. It's just. It's. It makes more sense about a lot of things. So they. It be topical, but it's like the deeper dives. But it's just from like a different.

[Jabari Young]

No arguing. It's just.

[DJ Envy]

Yeah.

[Podcast Announcer]

I don't want to sound bougie when I say it, but it's just like an elevated conversation around all the things that you get everywhere else.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I didn't know there was conversations on.

[Podcast Announcer]

It is kind of like that, but it's starting to get a little bit crazy. But threads can be like that as well.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah. I'm done with the. So I've. I've maxed out my social medias. I don't wanna go to another platform.

[DJ Envy]

I said the next one I would

[Jabari Young]

go to if I had to do it would be Isaac Hayes and Fan Base. I gotta do that with Isaac. Yeah.

[Jess Hilarious]

Jabari, did you know that the newspaper is written on a third grade level?

[Jabari Young]

Yeah.

[Podcast Announcer]

He is the.

[DJ Envy]

I know, but I don't.

[Podcast Announcer]

I don't.

[Jess Hilarious]

Charlamagne told me that. Yeah, but Charlamagne be playing with me so much because I'm very gullible when it comes to him. I be believing things and he'll trick me.

[Jabari Young]

Yeah.

[Jess Hilarious]

And so I was like, third grade level.

[Jabari Young]

What? Yeah, you have to. You have to really, you know, make sure that the average person can read it. And unfortun, unfortunately, we are in a, you know, in our society right now, our reading level is not that high. And so you have to really, you know, make sure you scale it down, you know, and so. And it only makes sense for people. And again, I come from North Philly. I'm trying to also talk to those people. And I know that there's certain things that may not get. So, you know, I kind of, you know, minimize it a little bit, but, yeah, you do have to do it. And certain outlets.

[Jess Hilarious]

Mm. I just had to check in with you.

[Jabari Young]

I.

[Jess Hilarious]

Don't be believing this, man. Okay.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It's Jabari Young. It's the Breakfast Club. Thank you, my brother.

[Jabari Young]

Appreciate it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Hold up. Every day I wake up.

[DJ Envy]

Wake your ass up.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

The Breakfast Club.

[DJ Envy]

That's right. It's DJ Envy.

[Jess Hilarious]

It's your girl, Jess. Hilarious.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And I go by the name of Charlamagne, the God. And we are the world's most dangerous morning show, the Breakfast Club. You just finished listening to, you know, our podcast for today.

[DJ Envy]

That's right.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And we want you to go watch the visuals on Netflix. You know, we. We're still on YouTube, but it's the clips on YouTube. But if you want to watch the Breakfast Club in full, if you want to see what you just listened to, go to Netflix.

[DJ Envy]

That's right.

[Jess Hilarious]

Find us on Netflix. Sure.

[Podcast Announcer]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.