By Gary Acosta
I, Gary Acosta, the co-founder and CEO of NAHREP, thank you for the opportunity to speak with North County Infomador and the wonderful families of North County.
I grew up in Montebello, California, a diverse city with a strong Latino presence that shaped my values, ambitions, and worldview. As the son of Mexican American parents, I experienced both cultural pride and the challenges that many Latino families face. But Montebello also gave me powerful role models—my hard‑working parents, dedicated teachers, and community leaders who showed resilience and determination. Those early lessons in perseverance made a lasting impression. After high school, I attended UC San Diego and later Pomona College, where I played varsity basketball under Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich—an experience that reinforced discipline, teamwork, and leadership, which have guided me ever since.
Gary Acosta is the is the Co-Founder and CEO of the National Association of Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), an organization focused on homeownership within the Latino community. He has also collaborated to produce reports on Hispanic wealth and homebuying. North County Informador interviewed Mr. Acosta and asked him for tips to help Latino families build wealth and support each other.
My path has been built on persistence and service. Today, I’m an entrepreneur, an investor, and a national advocate for the Latino business community. I co‑founded and now serve as CEO of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP)—the largest Latino business organization in the United States, with more than 58,000 members and 100 local chapters. We launched the Hispanic Wealth Project, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing household wealth for Latinos. In 2025, I co‑founded AVANCE Global with media entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author Nely Galán, building on the momentum of L’ATTITUDE, the major national event I helped create with Sol Trujillo, Oscar Muñoz, and Emilio Estefan. Over the years, I’ve also founded ventures across real estate, mortgage, technology, sports, and construction—including AVANCE Sports, the National Hispanic Construction Alliance, New Vista Asset Management, CounselorMax, and RealEstateEspanol.com—and I’m a founding partner of L’ATTITUDE Ventures, the nation’s largest venture capital fund investing exclusively in Latino‑led startups. Through all these projects, my focus has remained the same: creating tangible economic mobility for Latinos across industries.
Latino Empowerment in Real Estate
The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) was founded to empower Latino real estate professionals and, by extension, to help more Latino families achieve homeownership. And for me, homeownership isn’t just about the house—it’s about dignity, opportunity, and laying a foundation for future generations. For families in America, homeownership is still the number one gateway to the middle class.
The Hispanic Wealth Project (HWP™) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit we created to address a larger goal: empowering Latinos to fully participate and prosper in the U.S. economy through education, small business development, and sustainable homeownership.
AVANCE Global is an innovative event platform—co‑founded with Nely Galán—dedicated to advancing the economic empowerment of the diverse communities in the United States. Our aim is to create spaces where leaders, entrepreneurs, and visionaries can collaborate and share opportunities. It’s designed to help Latino professionals connect globally, think bigger, and actively shape the future. One of our flagship programs, ProXimo, is the ultimate Latino business conference and cultural gathering—bringing together entrepreneurs, executives, thought leaders, and cultural voices to inspire and drive prosperity.
Lifting Each Other Up
The “Mexican Crab” story is a folk lesson about crabs in a bucket—whenever one tries to climb out, the others pull it back down. It’s a warning about envy and internal competition that can hold a community back. In today’s world, that mindset is as dangerous as ever. Opportunities are scarce, and it’s tempting to compare ourselves or feel threatened by someone else’s progress. But the way forward is by lifting each other up. Celebrate your neighbor’s new house, your friend’s new business, your cousin’s graduation. Each win is a win for all of us—it sets an example and opens doors. Our true strength lies in unity and mutual support.
Tips
My advice comes down to a few key points.
- Aspire together, not alone. See your dreams as part of a bigger community vision.
- Find mentors and invest in networks. Relationships open doors.
- Prioritize education and skills—both formal and self-taught—because they pay dividends over time.
- Support each other’s wins. Your neighbor’s success strengthens your own future.
- Look at homeownership and small business growth as pathways to wealth. These are powerful tools for economic empowerment.
When we unite, support each other’s successes, and claim our place in the economy, we don’t just move forward—we redefine the future.
