When investor Rendel Solomon was looking for the perfect present for his niece, he didn’t head to the store. Instead he made her part-owner of some of the most well-known companies and brands, through purchasing her stocks in Apple, Disney and Nike.
He’s expanded on that special investment by broadening his mission.
Solomon is the founder of One Stock One Future, a program geared towards getting underprivileged youth access to financial literacy and impactful opportunities. Their mission is to turn 1 million economically disadvantaged youth into public company shareholders.
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The program not only teaches young people, aged 8 to 18, how to be financially responsible, but also opens their own investment account and donates one share of stock, immediately turning them into shareholders.
Solomon started his career as a project engineer, eventually earning an MBA from Columbia University and entering the world of private equity. He said that the inspiration for One Stock One Future came from his own childhood, growing up in the westside of Chicago.
“I didn’t learn anything about investing until I got older and interned for a straight through processing broker, and now that I work in the industry I realize just how little information flows through certain communities,” he says.
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Solomon stopped by TheGrioLIVE to talk with Deputy Editor Natasha Alford about his program and the larger issue of building wealth in the black community.
Check out the full interview below.