Louis Barajas argues the wealth gap persists not because people lack financial information, but because they lack a financial mindset: the belief they can change their circumstances. His immigrant father built wealth through work, planning, and saving, not shortcuts.
Hey, Louis, why is the wealth gap still the same, even though we have so much information, like AI and books about personal finance? Like what? Why do you think that is? Well, I will share with you, Eddie, is that years ago, when I went back to the Battery, back in the 1990s, when there was no Internet, there was a belief that financial literacy was lacking in underserved communities and that it would help shape the wealth gap. Right. We're in 2025, and the wealth gap actually among Latinos and blacks keeps increasing. And so financial literacy, as we know at this point, is not the answer. In fact, we have so much financial information, it's not getting to the point where it's getting people getting confused. It's about the financial mindset. And when I say financial mindset, let me be clear. It's about your personal belief that you have the capacity to change your current circumstances and to create a better future. And if there are people out there, Eddie, who don't believe that, and they are not ready or to change or believe that somebody else has control of their destiny. You know, my father came to this country 18 years old, as an immigrant, not speaking English, and he did extremely well for himself and built a business and got to travel the world and lives in a beautiful home that's all paid off in Claremont.
California. And my dad couldn't care less of who the mayor was, who the governor was, who the president was. My dad stuck his nose to the grindstone, worked really hard, planned his future, put money away, invested, bought properties, saved money, and, you know, he didn't care about what was going on. He just focused on taking care of his clients, being a good person, being honest, being ethical, doing the right thing. Building wealth takes time. And building wealth also takes, like, you have a certain mindset, and if you believe it, you'll achieve it. If you don't believe it, there's nothing that I can say, there's nothing that anybody else can say that will get you to the point to where you want to be again. You can blame everything and everyone, and it's still not going to help you, because in your mind, you're telling yourself that you do not have control. Once you believe that, you have control, have hope. I've seen it with people who come from nothing to achieve what I call financial dignity. They may not be multimillionaires, but they build a great life where they bought their homes and paid it off, sent their kids to college, have the greatest health care, are able to travel, are not living paycheck to paycheck to me. That's the American dream. The person who's out there telling you how to get the Mercedes or the Lamborghini or traveling on a private jet. Those are pipe dreams. I mean, there are people who do that. But you know what? That doesn't make you happy. You have to focus on building wealth and happiness and being intentional about it. If you follow me, we'll talk about these things that will help you grow. There's no pie in the sky. Dreams. It takes a while. You got to work really hard. But I can't even help you if you don't believe that you can be helped.
Is that right, Roxy?
