Ross Mac on Becoming a Financial Literacy Expert, New Netflix Film & Maconomics.

By 2053, Black households are projected to drop to median wealth of $0. Last week, Ross Mac stopped by Mornings with Bekoe to discuss how to change that. 

Chicago musician and entrepreneur Ross Mac, or “The Wall Street Rapper,” is a South Side native who attended an Ivy League school and went on to work on Wall Street. When he moved back to Chicago to begin working at Grosvenor Capital Management, he noticed something.

“I see the people who literally grew up with me, and the biggest thing that truly separated us is what I was exposed to,” Mac explained to Bekoe. “Which then helped me to aspire to different things.”

According to a 2021 McKinsey report, there is an estimated $330 billion disparity between white and Black households, with 60% of household wealth coming from generational inheritances. Mac works to raise generational wealth within the Chicago community — especially among BIPOC families — and beyond by making financial literacy more accessible to everyone.

“How can I now bring that same level of aptitude to the hood?” Mac pondered. “My whole thing now is, ‘How can I bring Wall Street to Main Street?’”

Mac acknowledges personal finance leans taboo in general discourse, so it can be hard for people to talk about. Unfortunately, this can be a huge roadblock toward financial literacy.

“I look at financial literacy as a language. The earlier you learn how to speak it, the quicker you will become fluent,” Mac told Bekoe.

Mac now motivates others to take control of their finances and works to make financial discourse more accessible through social media and his own financial education company, Maconomics, where he teaches budgeting and money management. 

Mac also hosts SiriusXM podcast “Money Music Culture” alongside NFL player Brandon Copeland, where the duo break down finance through the lens of popular culture.

Bekoe and Mac also discussed the new Netflix documentary Mac is featured in, Get Smart with Money, which follows four families over the course of the year as they partner with a money coach. Stream their full conversation now on YouTube.

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Follow Ross Mac on Instagram and Twitter and learn about Maconomics on his website.

Interview by Bekoe

Video by Rakim Winfert

Introduction written by Makenzie Creden

Edited by Morgan Ciocca

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