White billionaires have doubled in America in the past quarter-century, according to the Washington Post. This reflects the widening economic gulf and racial disparity as the percentage of Blacks and other minority households worth more than $1 million remains below 2% since 1992.
The trend of Whites accumulating wealth is set to continue and will continue to outperform Blacks and Hispanics in key indicators of wealth: homeownership and equity, investments, and inheritance, according to data cited by the Washington Post.
On the corporate ladder, Black CEOs make up less than one percent of Fortune 500 CEOs and around three percent in senior management positions, a report by the Center for Talent Innovation said. Brian Lee, a digital ad executive, wants to change that by offering a platform that aims at increasing the number of Black millionaires in the next decade.
Lee is the founder of Black Health & Wealth and has a passion for entrepreneurship and healthy living. He’s responsible for digital advertising campaigns for some of the largest brands in the United States. Black Health & Wealth was created to amplify Black wealth and economic opportunity and in the process, create more Black millionaires.
One of the ways of achieving this is to partner corporate institutions to commit to their diversity policy, Lee said. “There has been a lot of talk from corporate America about standing with the black community, but now it is time for action. Black professionals would like to see investment directly into black talent and black suppliers. They also want professional development and to see diverse people in company board seats and in the C-Suite,” the business executive was quoted by Black Business.
As a seasoned ad executive, Lee has worked for renowned brands like Verizon, Microsoft, and many more. Black Health & Wealth was inspired by his own struggles through the corporate ladder. Coming from a humble background, he aspires to create one million Black millionaires in the next 10 years thereby creating a modern-day Black Wall Street.
He however believes that building Black Wall Streets globally will start with a digital approach, hence his platform is “building the technology” to power communities.
In effect, Lee’s plan to increase the number of Black millionaires will be executed in two phases. The first phase will see Lee provide education and professional development to professionals within the network while phase two will centralize Black businesses to have access to each other while committing major corporations to their diversity policies, according to We Buy Black.