Ross Mac, creator of the popular digital series Maconomics, continues to merge education and entertainment to empower his audience with financial knowledge. Featured on major outlets like Yahoo Finance, BET, and Bloomberg, Maconomics provides a fundamental understanding of economic freedom from an urban perspective.
The upcoming annual Maconomics Wealth Summit will take place from July 12th to July 14th. It will feature major speakers, including the Earn Your Leisure brand, The Master Investor, Rashaun Scott, Jasmine Hagan, and the Chicago Bears. The weekend will focus on financial empowerment, networking, and philanthropy.
Events begin with an all-white yacht party at Navy Pier on Friday, July 12th. They are followed by the Wealth Summit on Saturday, July 13th, which includes panel discussions and workshops themed “Transforming Your Financial Future.” The weekend concludes on Sunday, July 14th, with the Maconomics Foundation Celebrity Basketball Classic, which benefits the community and promotes financial education.
Ross Mac emphasizes the urgency of financial literacy, stating, “By the year 2053, the median net worth of Black Americans is expected to fall to ZERO. My life mission is to assure that never happens by educating my community on the power of investing and being financially literate.”
In an exclusive with The Source, Ross Mac details the Maconomics Wealth Summit and his journey to supporting financial literacy. For more information on the Maconomics Wealth Summit or Ross Mac, please visit maconomics.com.
The SOURCE: What inspired you to want to teach the community about economics?
Ross Mac: Young Thug was interviewed by T.I. and talked about how he would want to be taught how to get the money if he met JAY-Z. One of my friends hit me up and asked me to show him. That was the same motivation for me being on Wall Street, rapping, and being a person from the inner city. Now I have time to come back and help. While living in New York and working for Morgan Stanley, everything was very fast-paced, and I didn’t have time to think about giving back. When I moved back to Chicago, I found my way to give back to people. I started with bite-sized content on Instagram and TikTok. The hybrid of Jim Cramer, Dave Ramsey, and a little Tyler Perry to educate and give life lessons.
What really sparked me was a hedge fund here in Chicago that had a portfolio of cash advance loan businesses. It’s a great investment on paper, but I realized they made their money off the backs of Black and Brown people who are traditionally underbanked. These are people who get paid Friday but need money on Thursday and are charged 200% in return on that loan. Our people were not educated, and I wanted a better way to educate our community.
You mentioned short-form content and the growth of this brand. How else have you seen Maconomics evolve?
It started with making content in my apartment. Me and my dog. But the audience developed, and I had a bigger responsibility to the people. What started as fun and educating became breaking down information. It was like a digital civil rights movement. One of the last steps to true quality is helping us get our money right. It evolved to now working with brands. I contribute to Yahoo! Finance. I have a Netflix doc. I have a bigger audience but was able to retain full autonomy. I’m still having a ball while educating.
We are just ahead of the second annual Maconomics Wealth Summit. Can you share details about the event and what attendees expect from the various activities and speakers?
We are expanding from one day. This is an entire weekend takeover. The idea is networking, learning, and service. I think that is important in the Black community. First, we network on Friday with an all-white yacht party, as there will be 400 young dope professionals willing to have libations and network across. People will always network up, but networking with someone in your peer group could become a big decision market that can help you. Day two is education and entertainment. We got Zach Boog from WGCI and Portia King hosting. We want to bring people into a fully immersive experience that will give actionable steps. We are discussing how to budget better, get out of debt, and develop an emergency fund. Over half of Americans don’t have a thousand dollars saved if an emergency happens. So, we are helping to shift a mindset and focus on what’s important. We also will talk about investing, the stock market, and what you need for your kids. 90% of the world’s millionaires got their start in real estate, so we detail that and the programs that could start with zero down or 3.5%. We also go into tax preparation, life insurance, estate, and retirement planning. Joining us will be Earn Your Leisure, Ian Dunlap, and corporations Groner Capital to Morgan Stanley. BMO, US Bank, and BET. We will end the day with a performance from Jeremih.
We will wrap on Sunday with service. The Maconomics Foundation develops funding for youth investment accounts. We will have a charity basketball game with celebrity players and pros like Javonte Green, Evan Turner, and Chicago Sky point guard Dana Evans coaching. And that goes into youth support.
How did you bring together such a diverse group of people to build and support Maconomics?
It always boils down to relationships. One thing money can’t buy is relationships. Relationships help open the doors, and now I can get sponsors because they understand what I’m doing. They know it’s coming from a good heart, and my goal is to educate.
What immediate actions would you recommend to those looking to become more financially fit today?
Budgeting. Everything starts with a budget. You have to spend less than what you make. An average person is living beyond their means. You want to look at it from 50, 30, 20 in terms of percent of your take-home pay. 50% should be for your necessities, 30% for things you want or want to do. The last 20% should be spent on saving, paying down debt, and investing.
There’s good debt and bad debt. On average, bad debt has over 20% interest rates, such as credit card debt. Good debt is owning an asset or borrowing money to make more money. Additionally, there needs to be a fully funded emergency fund of three to six months of necessary expenses.
Also, your parents always tell you to save. But let’s move that money out of a simple checking account into a high-yield savings account. By leaving it in checking, you are losing the value of your money due to inflation.
And most importantly, make sure you subscribe to Maconomics.
The post EXCLUSIVE: Ross Mac Talks ‘Maconomics’ Wealth Summit and Empowering Financial Literacy first appeared on The Source.
The post EXCLUSIVE: Ross Mac Talks ‘Maconomics’ Wealth Summit and Empowering Financial Literacy appeared first on The Source.
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