Last week, I wrote an article entitled “The Wealth Creator Most Black People Are Ignoring and Missing Out On.” I discussed the incredible wealth gap between white and Black families and the three major wealth creators that can decrease the wealth gap, including real estate, owning a business and investing and trading in the stock market. I shared how the stock market was called “The Great Wealth Equalizer” and how white wealth is comprised of 30% of stock, while Black wealth is comprised of only 4% of stock. There are numerous articles talking about us and how we are missing out on the stock market’s epic rise.
I find that the stock market is discussed almost 24/7 in many media outlets. They even talk about how the presidential election will affect the stock market depending on who becomes the president (Practice saying, “President Harris”).
My good friend, George C. Fraser frequently says, “I want to say this and still be loved,” and then he proceeds to lovingly hurt your feelings, but in the end, a powerful lesson will be learned if you are open to receiving the message. So, with that in mind, I want to say this and still be loved, “everyone is talking about the stock market, except Black folks!”
We talk about our jobs, our kids, the latest episodes of our favorite reality show, who the Ravens are playing this week, Lebron playing with his son Bronny, what concert is coming to town, Diddy, what we’re going to buy at the mall (especially as the holidays approach) but we are not talking about the stock market.
Think about it. Have you talked to anyone today, this week, this month, or this year about the stock market? Some of you may say, “Yes,” but the majority of us will say, “No”!
So, the question I’m examining this week is, Why Aren’t More Black People Participating In The Stock Market?
Since starting my company, FLip That Stock (FLipThatStock.com), over 11 years ago, I’ve asked this question hundreds of times, and the top 7 answers I get are:
(1) It’s too complicated; (2) I don’t want to lose any money; (3) It’s gambling; (4) That’s only for old rich white guys; (5) I don’t have any extra money to buy stocks; (6) I don’t have time to study and research stocks; and (7) You have to have a financial planner to buy stocks.
The real reason more of us are not participating in the stock market is because we haven’t been exposed to it like other cultures and/or taught how it really works and how it can benefit us.
In a YouTube clip, Magic Johnson, five-time NBA World Champion of the Los Angeles Lakers discussed on a popular podcast how in his first year in the NBA when he won the NBA Championship, Converse and Adidas shoe companies offered him a lot of money to wear and endorse their shoes. Then Nike came in and said they couldn’t offer him the same amount of money as Converse was offering because they were a new company, but they could offer him stock in Nike (effectively making him one of the owners of the company). He took the money from Converse. He goes on to say, if he had taken the Nike stock, it would have amounted to over $5 billion dollars! He says he was an NBA champion, yet he didn’t even know what stock was! He said his family didn’t have money and didn’t understand the stock market and that hurt him financially when making that decision between Converse, Adidas and Nike.
Now, you may be thinking, ‘well he did alright for himself, he’s still rich!’ But most of us will never play in the NBA or win an NBA championship and become rich that way, so we really need to learn how to make our money grow through other ways like the stock market.
So that’s why my company, FLip That Stock, has partnered with The Baltimore Times to educate, empower and lift our people to new financial heights that we need and deserve to live our best lives!
Join me on November 16, 2024 at The Inner Harbor for my LIVE seminar “A FUN and EASY Way To Learn The Stock Market and Buy Stocks.”
Visit https://www.flipthatstock.com/flip-that-stock-events for details and to purchase your ticket.
Tune in next Friday for my next article in the series. You don’t want to miss it!
J.R. Fenwick is the CEO of FLipThatStock.com, a leading stock market education and technology company based in Maryland.
