How Do Black People Spend Their Money? (The Racial Wealth Gap)

The Legacy Series contains the most read articles in the history of this website.  This is the #2 most read article in the history of Black Men In America.com.

By Gary A. Johnson – Black Men In America.com

Updated December 28, 2022 (Originally posted on November 5, 2010).

How black people spend their money has been a hotly debated topic in offices, at social events, and in beauty and barber shops across America. This article, “How Do Black People Spend Their Money?,” has been the most read and commented article for 12 years running.  Once I learned that this was the most popular and discussed article on the website, I decided to do some research and share this information with others. Over the years I found the process of gathering data and updating the site to be exhausting. It’s a lot to read. I update the site 1-2 times per year. This year I decided to update the article via video in the form of a pictorial slideshow. This way the reader has options. You can watch a 9-minute video which is the equivalent of having a summary video or a “Cliff Notes” version of how Black people spend their money, which includes a new component. I developed, “Gary’s 10 Tips To Prosperity and Emotional Fulfillment,” as part of the 2022 update.  Or, you can read and review the exhaustive data and charts/graphs.

Here’s something to think about.   Blogger Matthew Corbin lists 5 Reasons Why Black People Are Still Broke.

Here are Corbin’s 5 reasons:

1. Black people spend more money than they make
2. Black people don’t support black businesses
3. Black people don’t save their money
4. Black people don’t know how to invest
5. Black people aren’t working towards getting out of poverty

Click here to read Corbin’s explanation for each reason.

There is an article on Mater Meta.com, by Kimberly Anderson-Mutch, about how to build generational wealth.  Kimberly outlines the following 5 things that Black families can do to build generational wealth.

1. Talk to your children about wealth.
2. Buy a home or invest in real estate to create generational wealth.
3. Start a business.
4. Invest in stocks.
5. Establish an estate plan.

A recently released study by Merrill Lynch explored the ways wealthy Black people in the US spend their money.

What they found is that many well-to-do Black Americans:

• Take care of their family members, invest in their friends’ businesses, and eliminate debt
• Spend their earnings preparing for the future and retirement

The study, entitled “Diverse Viewpoints: Exploring Wealth in the Black/African American Community,” surveyed 455 affluent Black people –– defined as a household with annual income of $125,000 or more. The study’s findings indicate that this group of the US population is actually growing in size and has been since 2015.

The study participants reported working harder than other people in the affluent income category and charter their own career pathways. Affluent Black in the US are five times more likely to financially support their parents than other affluent people and four times more likely to plan to start their own business.

Another great source of information is “How Black/African Americans Pursue—and Define—Success,“ by Diallo Hall, a longtime content strategist and editor whose experience includes serving as Director of Thought Leadership at Fortune and Senior Editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit.  In that article you will read about the “Black Rules for Success,” from other successful Black/African American survey respondents.

Part 1:  The Narrative

Part 2:  The Pictorial Slideshow of How Black People Spend Their Money

Warning:  The following is a link to a long article with a lot of details, numbers, observations and opinions covering over two decades of information and data.  A large portion of the data was gathered before COVID-19.

Click Here To Read The Entire Updated “How Do Black People Spend Their Money?”

How black people spend their money has been a hotly debated topic not only on this site, but in our office, at social events and in beauty and barber shops across America.  This article has been the most read and commented article for 12 years running.  Once I learned that this was the most popular and discussed article on the website, I decided to do some research and share this information with others.

Click Here To Read The Entire Updated “How Do Black People Spend Their Money?”

Let’s start by watching this short video that explains the “racial wealth gap” in America.

Check out this 1954 film made to educate white merchants on the spending habits of Black Americans.

The Secret of Selling the Negro Market is a 1954 film financed by Johnson Publishing Company, the publisher of Ebony magazine, to encourage advertisers to promote their products and services in the African-American media. The film showed African-American professionals, housewives and students as participants in the American consumer society, and it emphasized the economic power of this demographic community. The film, which was shot in Kodachrome Color, featured appearances by Sinclair Weeks, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and radio announcer Robert Trout. The film had its premiere in July 1954 at the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was shown on a non-theatrical basis.

Watch this film and measure how far we’ve come over the last 60+ years.

Click Here To Read The Entire Updated Article

The series of articles and versions of “How Do Black People Spend Their Money?” contain opinions from outside sources not affiliated with Black Men In America.com.  This series is for information and educational purposes only. The opinions and views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of Gary Johnson, Black Men In America.com or any of its affiliates.

Gary is the Founder and Publisher of Black Men In America.com, an online news and magazine, Black Boating and Yachting.com and several other online sites.  Gary is also the author of the book “25 Things That Really Matter In Life,”:  A Quick and Comprehensive Guide To Making Your Life Better—Today! and “The Black Father Perspective: What We Want America To Know,” and “In Search of Fatherhood – Transcending Boundaries: International Conversations on Fatherhood.“  In 2019, Gary developed a line of spices under the name of “MasterChef Gary’s Premium Organic Seasoning.”  In 2021, Gary launched a motivational website and talk show called “Calculations.“  For motivational content and exclusive interviews with interesting people, visit Calculations Talk Show.com.  In his spare time, Gary uses his platform to help the Black Farmers of America.  He built the website Justice for Black Farmers to help educate others about the plight of the Black Farmer and their fight against the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Click Here To Read The Entire Updated “How Do Black People Spend Their Money?”

Updated: How Do Black People Spend Their Money?

The Legacy Series contains the most read articles in the history of this website.  This is the #2 most read article in the history of Black Men In America.com.

By Gary A. Johnson – Black Men In America.com

Updated December 28, 2022 (Originally posted on November 5, 2010).

How black people spend their money has been a hotly debated topic in offices, at social events, and in beauty and barber shops across America. This article, “How Do Black People Spend Their Money?,” has been the most read and commented article for 12 years running.  Once I learned that this was the most popular and discussed article on the website, I decided to do some research and share this information with others. Over the years I found the process of gathering data and updating the site to be exhausting. It’s a lot to read. I update the site 1-2 times per year. This year I decided to update the article via video in the form of a pictorial slideshow. This way the reader has options. You can watch a 9-minute video which is the equivalent of having a summary video or a “Cliff Notes” version of how Black people spend their money, which includes a new component. I developed, “Gary’s 10 Tips To Prosperity and Emotional Fulfillment,” as part of the 2022 update.  Or, you can read and review the exhaustive data and charts/graphs.

Here’s something to think about.   Blogger Matthew Corbin lists 5 Reasons Why Black People Are Still Broke.

Here are Corbin’s 5 reasons:

1. Black people spend more money than they make
2. Black people don’t support black businesses
3. Black people don’t save their money
4. Black people don’t know how to invest
5. Black people aren’t working towards getting out of poverty

Click here to read Corbin’s explanation for each reason.

There is an article on Mater Meta.com, by Kimberly Anderson-Mutch, about how to build generational wealth.  Kimberly outlines the following 5 things that Black families can do to build generational wealth.

1. Talk to your children about wealth.
2. Buy a home or invest in real estate to create generational wealth.
3. Start a business.
4. Invest in stocks.
5. Establish an estate plan.

A recently released study by Merrill Lynch explored the ways wealthy Black people in the US spend their money.

What they found is that many well-to-do Black Americans:

• Take care of their family members, invest in their friends’ businesses, and eliminate debt
• Spend their earnings preparing for the future and retirement

The study, entitled “Diverse Viewpoints: Exploring Wealth in the Black/African American Community,” surveyed 455 affluent Black people –– defined as a household with annual income of $125,000 or more. The study’s findings indicate that this group of the US population is actually growing in size and has been since 2015.

The study participants reported working harder than other people in the affluent income category and charter their own career pathways. Affluent Black in the US are five times more likely to financially support their parents than other affluent people and four times more likely to plan to start their own business.

Another great source of information is “How Black/African Americans Pursue—and Define—Success,“ by Diallo Hall, a longtime content strategist and editor whose experience includes serving as Director of Thought Leadership at Fortune and Senior Editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit.  In that article you will read about the “Black Rules for Success,” from other successful Black/African American survey respondents.

Part 1:  The Narrative

Part 2:  The Pictorial Slideshow of How Black People Spend Their Money

Warning:  The following is a link to a long article with a lot of details, numbers, observations and opinions covering over two decades of information and data.  A large portion of the data was gathered before COVID-19.

Click Here To Read The Entire Updated “How Do Black People Spend Their Money?”

How black people spend their money has been a hotly debated topic not only on this site, but in our office, at social events and in beauty and barber shops across America.  This article has been the most read and commented article for 12 years running.  Once I learned that this was the most popular and discussed article on the website, I decided to do some research and share this information with others.

Click Here To Read The Entire Updated “How Do Black People Spend Their Money?”

Let’s start by watching this short video that explains the “racial wealth gap” in America.

Check out this 1954 film made to educate white merchants on the spending habits of Black Americans.

The Secret of Selling the Negro Market is a 1954 film financed by Johnson Publishing Company, the publisher of Ebony magazine, to encourage advertisers to promote their products and services in the African-American media. The film showed African-American professionals, housewives and students as participants in the American consumer society, and it emphasized the economic power of this demographic community. The film, which was shot in Kodachrome Color, featured appearances by Sinclair Weeks, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and radio announcer Robert Trout. The film had its premiere in July 1954 at the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was shown on a non-theatrical basis.

Watch this film and measure how far we’ve come over the last 60+ years.

Click Here To Read The Entire Updated Article

The series of articles and versions of “How Do Black People Spend Their Money?” contain opinions from outside sources not affiliated with Black Men In America.com.  This series is for information and educational purposes only. The opinions and views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of Gary Johnson, Black Men In America.com or any of its affiliates.

Gary is the Founder and Publisher of Black Men In America.com, an online news and magazine, Black Boating and Yachting.com and several other online sites.  Gary is also the author of the book “25 Things That Really Matter In Life,”:  A Quick and Comprehensive Guide To Making Your Life Better—Today! and “The Black Father Perspective: What We Want America To Know,” and “In Search of Fatherhood – Transcending Boundaries: International Conversations on Fatherhood.“  In 2019, Gary developed a line of spices under the name of “MasterChef Gary’s Premium Organic Seasoning.”  In 2021, Gary launched a motivational website and talk show called “Calculations.“  For motivational content and exclusive interviews with interesting people, visit Calculations Talk Show.com.  In his spare time, Gary uses his platform to help the Black Farmers of America.  He built the website Justice for Black Farmers to help educate others about the plight of the Black Farmer and their fight against the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Click Here To Read The Entire Updated “How Do Black People Spend Their Money?”

Wealth Inequality By Race Has Widened Since 2007

By Black Men In America.com Staff

The Pew Research Center released a study on Wealth Inequality.  Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world.  According to the study, the wealth of white households was 13 times the median wealth of black households in 2013, compared with eight times the wealth in 2010, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of data from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances. Likewise, the wealth of white households is now more than 10 times the wealth of Hispanic households, compared with nine times the wealth in 2010. The study was conducted by Rakesh Kochhar and Richard Fry.

The current gap between blacks and whites has reached its highest point since 1989, when whites had 17 times the wealth of black households. The current white-to-Hispanic wealth ratio has reached a level not seen since 2001. (Asians and other racial groups are not separately identified in the public-use versions of the Fed’s survey.)

For many middle-class Americans, wealth is tied to the value of their homes. When the housing market crashed in 2007, the value of Americans’ assets took a beating across racial groups. Yet in the recovery, blacks have not bounced back as well as whites.

Black homeownership rates in the U.S. have historically been lower than white homeownership rates for a variety of reasons, but primarily due to a long history of racist housing policies that legal reforms have not entirely erased. During the housing boom of the last decade, blacks were more likely to get stuck with high-cost subprime mortgage loans than whites. In the crash, blacks were more likely to lose their homes than whites.

Leaving aside race and ethnicity, the net worth of American families overall — the difference between the values of their assets and liabilities — held steady during the economic recovery. The typical household had a net worth of $81,400 in 2013, according to the Fed’s survey — almost the same as what it was in 2010, when the median net worth of U.S. households was $82,300 (values expressed in 2013 dollars).

The stability in household wealth follows a dramatic drop during the Great Recession. From 2007 to 2010, the median net worth of American families decreased by 39.4%, from $135,700 to $82,300. Rapidly plunging house prices and a stock market crash were the immediate contributors to this shellacking.

Our analysis of Federal Reserve data does reveal a stark divide in the experiences of white, black and Hispanic households during the economic recovery. From 2010 to 2013, the median wealth of non-Hispanic white households increased from $138,600 to $141,900, or by 2.4%.

Click here to read the full study.

BUSINESS EXCHANGE: Let’s Have a Black Renaissance

By William Reed

“By our unpaid labor and suffering, we have earned the right to the soil, many times over, and now we are determined to have it.”

How can Blacks gain economic parity in America? The answer is so simple that no one ever suggests reparations as a remedy for what ails Blacks.

A long-running crime has been perpetrated against the descendants of slaves. Blacks are owed restoration of the rich history that slavery and segregation stole. But nobody stands up for Black descendants of slaves to get their just due in America. American justice for Blacks will require an act of Congress. With a little prodding from their constituents, Black members of Congress can lead the charge and bring about an act of Congress in regard to reparations owed to more than 30 million Black descendants of slaves living in America today.

Well over a century after slavery’s end, Black Americans are still poorer, less educated, and earning far less than their White counterparts. Blacks lag behind Whites in every area of American life. We all know that racism, racial discrimination and inequality continues to be perpetuated against Blacks. It’s on Blacks to initiate national discussions that have race, slavery and reparations as themes. Blacks need to use their resources to put it on America’s agenda to acknowledge its financial obligation for centuries of slavery and continuing subjugation. Instead of cowering and trying to lay low, Blacks need to correct the country’s ignorance of its racist history and illustrate the impact of de facto discrimination and slavery’s legacy in our social and political lives as well as psyche.

Many differences between Blacks and Whites stem from economic inequalities that have accumulated over the course of American history. In the years since the civil rights triumphs of the 1960s, when compared to Whites, African Americans complete less formal schooling, work fewer hours at a lower rate of pay and are more likely to give birth to a child out of wedlock and to rely on welfare.

We should use our resources to work toward a “renaissance” for our race. America was built from the ground up by slave labor. But, officials, Black and White, denial of the benefits gained from centuries of slave labor are, in effect, an attempt to pretend that America’s holocaust never occurred. Isn’t it time we demanded our political representatives submitted reparations legislation to obtain what we are owed? Blacks are slow to discuss “the debt” we are owed, even though we remain “behind” in every category of social measurement due to slavery’s legacy. Blacks’ current plight results from slavery and there should be instruments and policies to assist in Blacks’ current educational and economic deficiencies.
Contemporary Blacks need to focus on the fact that a debt has accrued over centuries of slavery – a debt that has only been deepened by segregation, discrimination, and racist institutional policies that persist to this day. Residual effects of slavery still exist, but too many Blacks seem to be ashamed to demand payment for centuries of slavery, of destruction of our minds and the theft of our culture.

It’s estimated that 30 million descendants of slaves are eligible for $1.5 million each in reparations compensation. American enslavement counts as an obvious rebuttal to claims that this Republic represents “the land of the free and home of the brave.” Sadly, the victims of this calamity feel more guilt than pride and few strive for “reparations” or other restitution to overcome the nation’s uniquely cruel, racist and greedy legacy.

Hopefully, Blacks can bond to get H.R. 40 passed. We all need to get to know and support Congressman John Conyers’ H.R. 40 bill, “Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act.” The bill establishes a federal commission to review slavery and its resulting racial and economic discrimination. Let’s each initiate local, state and national discussions toward the Congressional Black Caucus’ adaption and eventual Congressional passage of H.R. 40 reparations legislation. A discussion among African Americans about reparations should happen on social networks or whenever blacks get together.

William Reed is publisher of “Who’s Who in Black Corporate America” and available for projects via the BaileyGroup.org

Business Exchange by William Reed: Africans Come To America

By William Reed

As he winds through his second term with high “disapproval” numbers, Blacks are the only people President Barack Obama can turn to. As we enter August, a third of America’s voters think Obama is the worst president since World War II. Except for Blacks providing an upside, the first African-American president of the United States’ image is one of inexperience and ineptness. With his domestic and foreign policy portfolios both in tatters, Obama has turned to Blacks for support. This time it’s leaders from African nations that are “in good standing” with America. As he holds history’s first U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, Obama is hosting 50 African heads of state and more than 100 of their ministers.

Recent domestic polls have Obama being viewed as “less competent” and “more dishonest” than George W. Bush. Obama’s approval rating among American registered voters stands at 45 percent, but among Blacks, his job approval soars to 86 percent. Almost nine out of every 10 African American would support Obama no matter what, no matter how far America sinks under his leadership, even if they have no jobs and their own lives are in shambles. Seventy percent of Africans say pretty much the same about Obama.

The three-day Summit is the largest event any U.S. president has held with African heads of state and government. Those Africans coming to America for the Summit will be displaying the latest fashions, prints and styles of the continent. But, not much of substance is expected. It’s a “photo-op” to help Blacks, from here and there, feel good and in charge. Truth is, China, which devotes half of its $14.41 billion aid budget to its projects on the continent, regularly hosts individual African heads of state and has far outpaced the U.S. in trade and everything economic, in Africa. The structure of today’s trade relations between the U.S. and Africa is primarily dominated by fuel and fuel-related products.
Colonialist countries exploited Africa for centuries. As “the Black President,” Obama gets a “pass” for America’s colonial practices, but little else. These days China is the “most dominate” foreign country in Africa. The Africans are being very polite in coming to America because little else will come of the occasion other than a “Polaroid moment.” Obama has a long way to go to put America on economic par with China among Africans.

The African continent is home to more than a billion people that speak more than 2,000 languages. Only a few of Africa’s 54 leaders – Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, who is still the target of U.S. sanctions and the Sudanese whom the U.S. bombed and assisted in the separation of South Sudan – were not invited to the Summit.

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman is hosting the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Ministerial at the World Bank. Obama’s Power Africa initiative is a key Summit issue item. “Power” is one of Africa’s most pressing challenges. According to the World Bank, only a quarter of sub-Saharan Africa has access to electricity and 10 percent per-year capacity growth is needed to meet electricity demand.
A Summit Business Forum will be presented by the Department of Commerce and Bloomberg Philanthropies. The Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs Committees will host a Capitol Hill welcoming reception. The key Blacks on African issues there are U.S. Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), the Ranking Member on the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Africa and the Republican majority’s Gregory Simpkins the Subcommittee staff director, who says his main focus is: “increasing economic linkages between the U.S. and Africa.”

Summit planners say the discussions will encourage progress in areas that Africans define as critical for the continent’s future: “expanding trade and investment ties, engaging young African leaders, promoting inclusive sustainable development, expanding cooperation on peace and security, and gaining better futures for Africa’s next generation.”

“Everyone must understand that Africans aren’t looking for people to save them, but for people to partner with,” says Melvin Foote, head of the U.S.-based Constituency for Africa.

William Reed is publisher of “Who’s Who in Black Corporate America” and available for projects via the BaileyGroup.org.

Who’s Who in Black Corporate America?

By William Reed

According to Forbes 2014 ranking of the world’s billionaires, Nigerian business magnate Aliko Dangote with a net worth of $25 billion is the world’s richest Black person. But, Robert Louis “Bob” Johnson is an American worthy of note. Known best for launching Black Entertainment Television (BET) in 1980, Johnson was America’s first Black billionaire. After selling BET to Viacom for $3 billion, the 67-year-old Johnson has etched out role model status in hotels (Marriott), auto dealerships and ownership of the Charlotte Bobcats.

Born in Hickory, Mississippi, Bob Johnson founded BET with his wife, Sheila. After they sold BET in 2001 and divorced in 2002, both qualified billionaires. Since BET, Johnson has started the RLJ Companies, invested in an NBA team, a film company, and political causes and campaigns.

Bob Johnson spent the majority of his childhood in Freeport, Illinois and graduated from Freeport High School in 1964. He studied history at the University of Illinois and later earned a master’s degree in international affairs from Princeton University. After graduating Princeton, Johnson served as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s public affairs director. He also worked for the National Urban League and as a press secretary for Congressman Walter E. Fauntroy. Later Johnson became vice president of government relations at the National Cable and Television Association. In 1980, Johnson launched Black Entertainment Television. In 1984, he was listed in Who’s Who in Black Corporate America in 1984 and in 2007, USA Today named him one of the 25 most influential business leaders of the past quarter century.

The RLJ Companies provides strategic investments in a portfolio of companies in hotel real estate investment; private equity; financial services; asset management; automobile dealerships; sports and entertainment; and video lottery terminal (VLT) gaming. The core assets include:

• RLJ Lodging Trust has a total of 147 properties, comprised of 145 hotels with approximately 22,500 rooms located in 22 states and the District of Columbia.
• RLJ Equity Partners, LLC was founded with The Carlyle Group and specializes in middle-market leveraged buy-outs, recapitalizations, and growth equity. RLJ Equity Partners invests in companies with enterprise values between $50M and $250M within aerospace/defense; automotive/transportation; business services; consumer/retail; general industrial and media sectors.
• RLJ Credit Opportunity Fund provides capital solutions to facilitate buyouts, recapitalizations, refinancing, and growth financings. RLJ Credit principles partner with private equity firms, investment banks, and operating executives to deliver financial and strategic resources.
• RLJ Entertainment, Inc. is a owner, developer, licensee and distributor of entertainment content and programming with over 5,300 exclusive titles.
• RLJ Financial, LLC provides lending products to consumers in need of short term and emergency borrowing.
• Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH) specializes in employee retirement transition (job changer) services.
• RLJ Fixed Income, LLC specializes in income investment opportunities within the government, corporate, federal agency, and municipal bond markets.
• RLJ-McLarty-Landers Automotive Holdings, LLC consists of 35 automotive franchises and three Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealerships in eight states. RLJ-McLarty-Landers is the largest African American owned automotive franchise in the country.
• Bobcats Sports & Entertainment is comprised of the franchise and arena operations, of a professional basketball team of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Bobcats debuted in 2004 and is part of the Southeast Division of the NBA’s Eastern Conference and play home games at Charlotte’s Time Warner Cable Arena. In 2010, Johnson sold majority ownership to Michael Jordan and MJ Basketball Holdings, LLC, but Johnson still serves as the Bobcats’ governor to the NBA.
• Caribbean CAGE, LLC is a route-installed gaming company headquartered in Puerto Rico that focuses on the installation, operation and management of video lottery terminals (VLTs), linked gaming systems and game content throughout the Caribbean and Latin America.
• Our Stories Films, LLC is a production studio that produces theatrical motion pictures.
• The RLJ Kendeja Resort & Villas is a 78-room villa style hotel located on 13-acres of ocean front property overlooking the Atlantic Ocean outside of Monrovia, Liberia. The property opened in 2009.The four-star luxury resort is the first of its kind in Liberia and one of the first in West Africa.

William Reed is publisher of “Who’s Who in Black Corporate America” and available for projects via the BaileyGroup.org.

Michael Jordan Officially A Billionaire — Floyd Mayweather Top Earner In Sports

By Black Men In America.com Staff

According to Forbes magazine, Michael Jordan is a billionaire.  Sources familiar with the Charlotte Hornets report that Jordan has increased his stake in his basketball team to 89.5% from 80% during the past several months.

Jordan became the controlling owner in the Hornets in 2010 when he bought out then owner Robert Johnson for $175 million.  The Hornets are reportedly worth between $600 million and $625 million.

Forbes estimates Jordan’s net worth in the neighborhood of $600 million.  The Hornets have $135 million of debt, which makes Jordan’s equity in the team worth $416 million.  After subtracting all the cash Jordan has invested in the team, sources at Forbes magazine estimate Jordan’s net worth outside of the Hornets to be $600 million, giving him a net worth of a $1 billion dollars.

In other athlete news, Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Jr. banked at least $25 million for each of his past nine bouts going back to 2007 when he defeated Oscar De La Hoya in the most watched fight in the history of boxing pay-per-view events.  Mayweather has earned almost $400 million since turning pro in 1996.

Mayweather earned $105 million during the past 12 months for 72 minutes of work in the ring for fights against Canelo Alvarez and Marcos Maidana putting him at the top of Forbes’ annual list of the world’s highest-paid athletes for the second time in three years.

Photo Credit:  Michael Jordan (cbssports.com), Floyd Mayweather (Sports Illustrated.com)

Year In Review: How Do Black People Spend Their Money?

Originally posted on November 5, 2010.  Updated December 27, 2013.

As we look at the year in review, the most popular article posted on this website/blog was an article detailing how black people spend their money.  The article was “How Do Black People in America Spend $507 Billion Dollars Annually?”

This article has been the most read and commented article for 3 years running.  Once I learned that this was the most popular and discussed article on the website, two questions immediately came to my mind:

1. What does that say about the topic in terms of being relevant to our site visitors?
2. Has anything changed?

This has been a hotly debated topic not only on this site, but in our office, at social events and in beauty and barber shops across America.

We’ve updated our original article with some information from an article written in September 2013, by Stacy M. Brown posted on the Washington Informer.com website titled, “Big Spenders, Small Investors:  Blacks Have Little to Show for Hard-Earned Dollars.”  In that article, Ms. Brown writes, “If black America counted as an independent country, its wealth would rank 11th in the world.  However, African Americans continue to squander their vast spending power, relegating blacks to economic slavery instead of financial freedom, according to several consumer reports detailing the use of cash in the black community.”

If history is any indication of future behavior, this updated article will be hotly debated in 2014.  Let’s hope that we can make some progress in this area and close the wealth gap.

Happy New Year!

Gary Johnson, Founder & Publisher – Black Men In America.com

Other highlights from “Big Spenders, Small Investors:  Blacks Have Little to Show for Hard-Earned Dollars” include the following:

• African Americans consistently outpace the total market population in overall growth, smart phone ownership, television viewing and annual shopping trips according to the new study, “Resilient, Receptive and Relevant: The African-American Consumer 2013 Report,” a collaborative effort by the Nielsen Company in New York and the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), located in Northwest Washington, D.C.

• Black buying power continues to increase, rising from its current $1 trillion level to a forecasted $1.3 trillion by 2017.

• Despite the strong economic outlook, blacks continue to spend most of their money outside of the African-American community and, according to Nielsen and NNPA, advertisers have repeatedly slighted the black media, spending only three percent, or $2.24 billion, of the $75 billion spent with all media last year.

• Each year, African Americans spend more than $47 billion on Lincoln automobiles, $3.7 billion on alcohol, $2.5 billion on Toyotas, $2 billion on athletic shoes, and $600 million each year on McDonald’s and other fast foods, according to Target Market News Inc., a Chicago-based marketing research group.

• Blacks also spend wildly to keep up their appearances.  The black hair care and cosmetics industry counts as a $9 billion a year business, but while African Americans are spending the most, they are profiting the least, said officials from the Black Owned Beauty Supply Association (BOBSA) in Palo Alto, Calif.  Beauty product lines designed for African Americans were once 100 percent owned and operated by blacks, today other ethnic groups control more than 70 percent of the market.

• The current home-ownership rate reveals that 73.5 percent of whites own homes while approximately 43.9 percent of African Americans are homeowners, according to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies State of the Nation report for 2013.

• Sixty percent of African Americans have less than $50,000 saved in company retirement plans and only 23 percent have more than $100,000.

The loyalty blacks have to their church also has proven costly, said officials at Faith Communities Today, a nonprofit based in Hartford, Conn.  A 2013 study revealed that black churches have collected more than $420 billion in tithes and donations nationwide since 1980, an average of $252 million a week.

“What people fail to see and understand is that, the church pastors aren’t waiting for miracles to fund their lifestyles, they don’t have to pray, day in and day out, to make their ends meet,” said Northwest resident and author, Byron Woulard.  They are getting rich off God, not from God,” he said. Woulard, whose books include, the 2011, “Pawn Queen,” noted that the money spent tithing could buy as many as 93,333 homes valued at $150,000; pay for tuition up to $15,000 a year for 933,333 college students, and feed every homeless American for a year.  “It’s the best hustle on the planet. If you don’t get it here on earth, you’ll get it when you die and go to heaven,” Woulard said. “And, it just so happens that not one person in the history of this planet has died, went to heaven, and come back to tell everyone that it’s true.”

Stacy M. Brown’s article posted on the Washington Informer.com website concludes with what is described as an inescapable fact:    When black folks make money, they are quick to spend it!

According to Dr. Boyce Watkins, a Scholar in Residence in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Syracuse University in New York, also known as “the people’s scholar,” “We don’t use money to invest or produce,” said Watkins, 42.” When we get our tax refund, we go straight to the store.”

The 17th annual report on “The Buying Power of Black America” also includes a dollar-by-dollar breakdown of the Black economy.

Copies of “The Buying Power of Black America” can be purchased from Target Market News for $99.00  for the hard copy version and $65.00 for the digital version.  For more information call 312-408-1881, or click here to purchase online.

Below is our original article posted in November 2010.  Have their been any improvements?  You be the judge.

“How Do Black People in America Spend $507 Billion Dollars Annually?”

With $836 Billion in Total Earning Power, only $321 Million Spent on Books while $7.4 Billion Spent on Hair and Personal Care Products and Services

New ‘Buying Power’ report shows black consumers spend as economy improves

New 16th edition shows expenditures rise to $507 billion

(November 1, 2010) African-American consumers are cautiously increasing their spending in some key product categories, even as they continue to make adjustments in a slowly growing economy. The finding comes from the soon to be issued 16th annual edition of “The Buying Power of Black America” report.

In 2009, black households spent an estimated $507 billion in 27 product and services categories. That’s an increase of 16.6% over the $435 billion spent in 2008. African-Americans’ total earned income for 2009 is estimated at $836 billion.

The report, which is published annually by Target Market News, also contains data that reflect the economic hardships all consumers are facing. There were significant declines in categories — like food and apparel — that have routinely shown growth in black consumers’ spending from year-to-year.

“These latest shifts in spending habits are vital for marketers to understand,” said Ken Smikle, president of Target Market News and editor of the report, “because they represent both opportunities and challenges in the competition for the billions of dollars spent by African-American households. Expenditures between 2007 and 2008 were statistically flat, so black consumers are now making purchases they have long delayed.  At the same time, they re-prioritizing their budgets, and spending more on things that add value to their homes and add to the quality of life.”

The median household income for African-Americans dropped by 1.4% in 2009, but because of students going out on their own, and couples that started their lives together, the number of black households grew 4.2%. This increase meant that many household items showed big gains. For example, purchases of appliances rose by 33%, consumer electronics increased 33%, household furnishings climbed 28%, and housewares went up by 37%.

Estimated Expenditures by Black Households – 2009

Apparel Products and Services	$29.3 billion
Appliances	2.0 billion
Beverages (Alcoholic)	3.0 billion
Beverages (Non-Alcoholic)	2.8 billion
Books	321 million
Cars and Trucks – New & Used	29.1 billion
Computers	3.6 billion
Consumer Electronics	6.1 billion
Contributions	17.3 billion
Education	7.5 billion
Entertainment and Leisure	3.1 billion
Food	65.2 billion
Gifts	9.6 billion
Health Care	23.6 billion
Households Furnishings & Equipment	16.5 billion
Housewares	1.1 billion
Housing and Related Charges	203.8 billion
Insurance	21.3 billion
Media	8.8 billion
Miscellaneous	8.3 billion
Personal and Professional Services	4.1 billion
Personal Care Products and Services	7.4 billion
Sports and Recreational Equipment	995 million
Telephone Services	18.6 billion
Tobacco Products	3.3 billion
Toys, Games and Pets	3.5 billion
Travel, Transportation and Lodging	6.0 billion

Source: Target Market News,

“The Buying Power of Black American – 2010”

“The Buying Power of Black America” is one of the nation’s most quoted sources of information on African-American consumer spending. It is used by hundreds of Fortune 1000 corporations, leading advertising agencies, major media companies and research firms.

The report is an analysis of consumer expenditure (CE) data compiled annually by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The CE data is compiled from more than 3,000 black households nationally through dairies and interviews. This information is also used for, among things, computing the Consumer Price Index.

The report provides updated information in five sections:

– Black Income Data
– Purchases in the Top 30 Black Cities
– Expenditure Trends in 26 Product & Services Categories
– The 100-Plus Index of Black vs. White Expenditures
– Demographic Data on the Black Population

Click here to read comments in response to the original article.

Tavis Smiley: Black People Are Not Better Off Under Obama

By Black Men In America.com Staff Writer

Last week Tavis Smiley, who seems to show up more frequently on the FOX News Channel appeared on the Sean Hannity Show.  While discussing the government shutdown the conversation shifted near the end of the interview.

Host Hannity:  “Are black Americans better off five years into the Obama presidency?”

Smiley:  “Let me answer your question very forthrightly: No, they are not,” Smiley said. “The data is going to indicate, sadly, that when the Obama administration is over, black people will have lost ground in every single leading economic indicator category.”

Smiley:  “On that regard,” he added, “the president ought to be held responsible.”

Smiley:  “I respect the president. I will protect the president. And I will correct the president. He’s right on this government shutdown. Republicans are thwarting the rule of law with the Constitution. If they let this debt go into default, they’re trampling again on the Constitution.”

You can click here to watch the entire interview.  Of course, not everyone agrees with Tavis.  James E. Causey, of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Tavis is wrong. Causey writes:  “Things are bad, but blacks are better off than we were before Obama took office.  Click here to read Mr. Causey’s article.

What do you think?

Reasons an Emerging Black Middle Class Can Fail

By Thomas Duffy

The strange and tranquil response about the so-called one percent controlling all the wealth, which seemed to have tried to take hold of how politics are played also, should have brought the worst out in most people. But I realize there’s a segment of the white social structure that’s more distinct by middle class status and locale that seem not to care, so they usually help to give rise to those types. Their ignorance is the failure to understand there are usually no rewards for compliance. Regardless if it’s done because of race, [which I believe is more likely] or any other underline reason, it always affect people who need some support and even when their people end up on the short end of the stick, their justification is to fight against big government. Strange but few are careful to not totally agree to change what some believe are entitlements, primarily because it sounds like it would be their Social Security and Medicare. Adding to this is the rhetoric of politicians that some believe gives it more credence, yet few would believe the alter interest for these politicians, could take them back to more difficult times also. Of course it shouldn’t be surprising why they’re supportive to dump what they have adapted to be Obama-care, but again few would believe it would have any effect on them or their people. Furthermore to their ignorance, they fail to understand all politicians have government jobs, besides some of these same guys who really care more about the one percent, receive federal money from the government they said they despise, to not grow crops on farms they purchased just for that purpose. So maybe their hardships should get little government help if and when tragedies occur, because “fools are as fools do.”

For the first time in many years blacks were involved in something as a group without conflict, and that was helping to elect this president, I say helping because others voted for him also. The exhilaration and tears of happiness leading up to when we believed our chance had finally come, only festered in the demeanor of political diehard’s who lost their vision of how they would restore old traditions back to their favor. Only the most depressing for them suddenly became a gift, with the midterm elections being the catalysts.

So surprisingly their first step took little effort, because it was the old tradition of some of us not showing up to vote on important matters that gave it a push. Although there were political watchdogs, keeping an eye and ear on things, they still didn’t detect what was really taking place early on. The sudden negative rhetoric in town hall meetings and street rally’s from a new formed group took us away from discovery, so more of us concentrated on what seemed to have always pushed our buttons, [taunts of bigotry]. We grumbled with anger, disgusted about the way it was disrespecting the new president. But those who needed someone to blame, pointed the finger at that new group [tea party], with some belief it could change its frequency. But it only allowed it to spring up from everywhere, which helped to produce the distorted claims from white politicians in many states about alleged voting frauds, that was really a cover up towards changing voter’s rights.

Anyway, I believe the ability to rise to the equivalent of our antagonist is to only recognize reality as a motivator, not probability, which should warn the naive to limit any belief that they’re [really free] to do whatever they choose if they work hard and follow the rules.

We may feel proud of the few that have jumped the broom so to speak, but since it’s a small number compared to time and population growth giving that notion some validation, it has in no way completely turned things around for us. Remember, institutional bias and limited opportunity, still cause many of us to end up on the short list. Furthermore most of us have seen over the years if we do anything that’s positive, but to them is threatening, it’s referred to a certain group of white guys with the [supreme power] to change the rules. Oddly enough the push towards complicating our lives more than it is already, started to emerge in certain parts of the country soon after these same guys rulings on voting rights.

Looking at something as serious, or what I call a different brand of black person, they with little forethought showed they had become our weakest link. They are individuals who said things weren’t as bad as the rest of us knew it was. They are individuals who defend the status-quo regardless how it affects them. The surprising side of their character fails to accept that the Constitution, Bill of Rights as other earlier national documents written by white men, has never included them. But the real hard-sell is convincing them, the self-style founding fathers of this country weren’t African. So when they speak about them, it should be “those founding fathers”, “not our founding fathers” as some often declare.

Maybe this seems petty to some, but when whites who know the truth hears this, they feel we are less threatening, because we’ll say and do anything to be included. Yes it may not matter to most whites, but there’s still enough of a chunk of white males out there, to keep a mental note, to use it in their commentary.

Anyway, if I were a deeply religious person, I could say what has kept the black middle class from being an independently sound group, is nothing more than karma, just by showing the area where I worked, the institutions, agencies and positions of many in those settings, who misinformed, mistreated and lacked showing a genuine concern for their people. The success of a growing black middle class should be measured not only by their efforts, but the positive changes of the poor and elder blacks which seems to remain stagnant. Even with multitudes of success under duress, these deficiencies are a portion of what has helped to keep the vision of us still shuffling aimlessly around to be saved by a charitable federal government.

Changing the focused on this for a moment, to reveal how employees of certain banks have recently declared to have chosen to lower their integrity by lying to customers about loans. This information could lessen blacks input, but since there are other self-inflicted reasons, they must take a portion of the blame, since it was they who seem to take their usefulness for granted; believing anything that would happen in favor of whites [who many often focused their lives on] would also include them.

On the other side of the coin, the decline of what we know to be the more notable black middle class may not have resulted from most of the same circumstances, but it was destined because of ignorance, poor perception regarding risks, where most were too conciliatory with financial choices that were self-indulging and wasteful.

But as serious and perhaps more provocative were politics and social viewpoints coming from middle class whites that were usually contrary or bias for any chance of unification for support, because there’s no true diversified middle class. This is where the success of a definitive middle class faces a quandary, since these measures have hampered any chance to build an essential grouping to address more than circumstances relating to labor. When I listen to the president talking about restoring the middle class, I usually believe it would be fragmented, because it would probably elevate whites as blacks remain stagnant.

Why is this important? When proceedings of various factions within the black middle class who’s in a position and savvy enough to address some of the problems thrust upon the most vulnerable, probing and often critical white observers usually claim some need of assistance will be affixed, that will outweigh their ability to tackle the matter for positive results. Of course it’s stereotypical in content, but it has become the way so-called white social pundits write books and downplay our abilities regardless of status to do most things without first pointing the finger at the establishment as a lead in to ask or expect a handout. Remember regardless of the intelligence or real political agenda of this president, or what he has done to improve the condition and lives of whites also, he’s still labeled the food stamp president by some.

But I will end this with another social impediment; they are blacks [mostly men] who help add more negatives to the most critical of whites who are determined to keep us from settling into a life of normality because of their narcissistic pointless rhetoric. I’ve read articles and heard commentary from them who’s suppose to be educated, who should keep silent. They know the difficulty this president has been going through, yet they have even lashed out to the point of personal resentment, because they somehow felt it’s his responsibility to extend himself primarily to blacks to help improve their lives. Ironically their public display of showmanship is often a disgrace because they are really individuals who wanted to be deemed important as others who have shown their only real effort to help things to get better for blacks, are in their complaints.