OCTOBER, 2022
Latino Donor Collaborative Releases the 2022 LDC U.S. Latino GDP Report ™
in Partnership with Wells Fargo
Economic growth is what we are all after. There is one cohort of our population that is clearly leading the growth of our economy in nearly every measurement across nearly every sector. That cohort is our U.S. Latino population, making it the new mainstream.
You can now download for yourself a complete analysis with facts and data in the 2022 LDC U.S. Latino GDP ReportTM from the Latino Donor Collaborative in partnership with Wells Fargo.
In it you’ll discover that when measured as nominal GDP, meaning before being adjusted for inflation, in 2020 U.S. Latino GDP was one of only two economies in the world that grew. U.S. Latino nominal GDP grew .5%, while U.S. non-Latino GDP declined 2.6%.
In this report you’ll learn about real wage and salary income growth from 2019 to 2020. Wages and salary income for all non-Latinos in the United States fell by 1.1%. For U.S. Latinos on the other hand, wages and salary income grew by an astonishing 6.7%.
You’ll also gain insight into another factor in the Latino GDP growth story, which is consumption. This is a story that has been building for a decade as the data on real consumption growth from 2010 to 2020 shows that U.S. non-Latino consumption grew 1.1% during that time, while U.S. Latino consumption grew 3.6%.
Presented last week at L’ATTITUDE, the 2022 LDC U.S. Latino GDP ReportTM is a must-read for every businessperson who wants to grow in 21st-century America.
Media and Entertainment Sector is Missing its Largest Source of Revenue Growth
Latinos are the largest minority in America, the biggest driver of demographic and economic growth, and the youngest demographic group. Yet, they are vastly underrepresented in mainstream media content, as described by Ana Valdez, Chairman and CEO of the Latino Donor Collaborative, in its LDC 2021 Media Report presented at L’ATTITUDE.
U.S. Latinos are the only major cohort that under-index in media representation. Accounting for nearly 20% of the total population, the U.S. Latino population is larger than the Black-America and Asian-American populations combined. Yet, they are only 5.5% of all screens representation, yielding a -71% representation ratio.
That means that a person is more than twice as likely to be an identical twin, than for a show to have a U.S. Latino lead actor.
Why does that matter? The Latino audience presents a lucrative business opportunity across the media landscape because of its size, its youth, growth rate, and economic power. The money being left on the table by the lack of Latino presence in media is a significant competitive opportunity, as demonstrated by the fact that nearly 3 of 4 U.S. Latinos are positively influenced to watch programming, subscribe to content, and purchase tickets for content that has U.S. Latino leads, casts, and producers.
U.S. Latinos already purchase nearly 27% of movie tickets. The report demonstrates the tremendous upside for the entertainment industry if it features U.S. Latinos in lead roles of mainstream content, and includes U.S. Latinos behind the camera as well. As the largest growth cohort in the country, growing to one-hundred million over the next three decades, U.S. media can no longer afford to ignore these drivers of our New Mainstream Economy.
Highlighted in the Media Report was that the U.S. Latino cohort is the one cohort that is most under-represented. Given this cohort’s economic strength and its domination in the growth of content and platform revenue, this is now a critical area for all investors in media companies to watch, as the point made by Ana Valdez that “those companies that don’t “get it” are leaving money on the table.”
Latino Corporate Directors Association Calls Out Companies
with No Latina or Latino Board Members
Esther Aguilera, President & CEO of the Latino Corporate Directors Association, introduced the LDC 2022 Latino Board Monitor report at L’ATTITUDE 2022. What may have been most startling in this report is that, as the second largest population cohort in our country, U.S. Latinos and Latinas are so dramatically under-represented on Fortune Boards of Directors. In fact, they hold the smallest number of board seats of any cohort, with Latinas even more dramatically under-represented with the smallest number of board seats compared to any gender, racial, or ethnic group.
The LCDA report points out that representation on Fortune 500 Boards does not reflect our population and is certainly not consistent with the fact this is our largest growth segment, and with GDP output that is growing at twice the rate of the U.S. economy as a whole.
Latinos have the widest gap compared to population size. US Latinos are 20% of the US population but only hold 4.1% of Fortune 500 board seats. The Latino representation gap is 14.8 percentage points, compared to 4.7 percentage points for African-Americans, and 1.3 for Asian-Americans. Anglo-Americans are overrepresented by 22.5 percentage points.
For decades, Latinos have been left out of the boardroom. The 2022 Monitor reveals that 65% of 2022 Fortune 1000 companies lack a US Latino on their board of directors, only a 4% improvement from 2021.
At this rate, it will take decades to reach parity. Not taking into consideration director resignations and departures, it will take more than 8 years to reach 10% of directorships on Fortune 1000, still well below the US Latino population of 20%.
Highlighted in a conversation between Sol Trujillo and Esther Aguilera was that one company stands out as the paragon of all corporate boards, that being Target, which now has three Latinas on its board of directors. Nike is to be congratulated for introducing to the audience their newly-elected board member, Monica Gil, a renowned Telemundo executive.
Also highlighted during their conversation were the companies that do not have a Latina or Latino on their boards, which many find shocking given the leadership in economic growth in our country by U.S. Latinos. Following are lists of the Fortune 100 companies with and without U.S. Latinos.
NAHREP Details the State of Hispanic Wealth
The NAHREP 2022 State of Hispanic Wealth Report presented at L’ATTITUDE, was a clear demonstration of why those companies that are not embracing this cohort are leaving money on the table. This is our country’s growth cohort.
A lead data point from the report showed that U.S. Latino wealth is increasing at more than three times the rate of the overall population. Latino median household wealth increased by 138% between 2013 and 2019 as compared to 36% for the overall population.
The future of U.S. economic growth will rely heavily on U.S. Latinos because they are young, with a median age of 30, and are just aging into their prime wealth-building years. Latinos have had the highest labor force participation rate for the last two decades and will account for the majority (64.8%) of labor force participation growth over the next ten years. Similarly, Latinos are predicted to account for more than half (53.1 %) of new household formations and 70% of new homeowners over the next 20 years.
Homeownership is pivotal to wealth creation. In June 2022, average home prices grew by 18.3 percent, marking the 125th consecutive month of year-over-year increases. At the end of 2021, the average annual equity gain was $55,300, more than double the annual gain in 2020.
The good news for U.S. Latinos is that this cohort is nearing 50% home ownership, which is also good news for our country. The growth of this cohort, and their growing ability to buy homes, has resulted in 52% of new homeowners being U.S. Latino, which supports the entire home and construction ecosystem. U.S. Latinos are driving demand for real estate in our economy.
Homeownership is a strong wealth-building tool, demonstrated by the fact that homeowners have 28 times the wealth of renters. Homeownership also serves as a valuable tool for generational wealth, as children of homeowners are 7 to 8 times more likely to become homeowners themselves than children of renters. With one million U.S. Latinos turning 18 each year for the next three decades, the growth in homeownership among U.S. Latinos bodes well for America’s future.
A major challenge for this cohort pointed out in the report is the low participation rate in retirement accounts, with only 1 in 4 participating. The impact on personal wealth is dramatic, as U.S. Latinos who own a retirement account have nearly 10 times the wealth of those who don’t.
The more we understand the strengths and weaknesses of this cohort economically, the more actions we can take as a country to expand the ability of U.S. Latinos to create wealth, which will benefit every American’s future.
HITEC Report Reinforces U.S. Latino Consumer
Leadership in Technology.
Guillermo Diaz, Jr, Chairman of the Hispanic Technology Executive Council (HITEC) presented the 2022 HITEC Report at L’ATTITUDE. That report provides the latest data about how U.S. Latinos are the leading consumers in the technology sector. For example, 46% of Latinos versus 27% of non-Latinos use new media platforms, such as TikTok. 78% versus 63% are engaged in online communities. 29% of Latinos versus 25% of non-Latinos post to social media.
The report also showed that Latinos are the leading streamers in our country, accounting for 43% of TV viewing on streaming platforms versus 34% of all others. They are also avid video game players, outpacing the general market in usage, purchases, and technology adoption.
On the business side of technology, Diaz detailed that 19% of U.S. Latino-owned businesses develop and sell a technology or software product versus just 14% of Anglo-owned businesses. Unfortunately, the number of Latino tech creators and professionals is well below the Latino proportion of our population. While 39% of K-12 students are Latino, only 4% of the high-tech workforce is Latino. As Diaz noted, we need more Latino makers, creators, and owners to close the gap of over 1 million vacant jobs in the high-tech industry.
Five U.S. Latino CEOsTogether
on Stage For First Time in Our Country
L’ATTITUDE 2022 was the first and only time that five U.S. Latino CEOs were together on one stage, discussing their perspectives on the New Mainstream Economy. They provided a multi-disciplined look at our economy and helped widen the lens for all American businesses regarding the U.S. Latino cohort.
Sol Trujillo, Chairman Trujillo Group and former CEO of US WEST, Orange, Telstra, and co-founder of L’ATTITUDE led the discussion with four other powerful and insightful Latino CEOs, including Dr. Marlow Hernandez, CEO of Cano Health; Pedro J. Pizarro, President & CEO of Edison International; Mauricio Gutierrez, President & CEO of NRG Energy; and Oscar Munoz, Chairman/Former President & CEO, United Airlines.
Three quotes from that session provide a highlight view of the wide-ranging discussions regarding the New Mainstream Economy.
“When you look at the New Mainstream Economy numbers, who is going to be driving growth? It’s Latinos who have the power to drive growth.”
– Mauricio Gutierrez, President & CEO, NRG Energy
“There have been plenty of times that I’ve been the “only Latino” in the room, and I see a big opportunity for us to change that.” – Pedro Pizarro, President/CEO, Edison International.
“During Covid, Latinos went back to work with urgency. That spirit of can-do is reshaping the status quo and becoming the New Mainstream Economy.” – Dr. Marlow Hernandez, CEO, Cano Health.
“Oftentimes we are labeled as “the only” … the exception. I want us to become the expectation.” – Oscar Munoz, Chairman/Former President & CEO, United Airlines, and L’ATTITUDE Partner.
LATINXT Business Showcase Introduces
Three Rapid-Growth Companies
U.S. Latinos are known as the most entrepreneurial cohort in our country. Who are the break-away U.S. Latino entrepreneurs who are not only founding companies but also making a difference in how we live, work, and play, and are leading the way in demonstrating high return on investment? The LATINXT Business Showcase at L’ATTITUDE is where the rest of the business community, as well as consumers, learn about emerging New Mainstream companies, technologies, products, and services.
The power of capital flow into the U.S. Latino cohort was demonstrated by three businesses supported by the investment by L’ATTITUDE Ventures that are achieving remarkable success.
Back to the Roots CEO Alejandro Velez Ramirez explained how they are going to make Target the most sustainable garden center in the country by launching Back to the Roots quality organic gardening soil at every Target store and at a lower price point than anywhere else.
Aqua Bonita CEO Kayla Castaneda detailed the growth of her company from having their product in maybe fifteen stores to now over 1,000 stores, including Target. She proclaimed, “We are building the next billion-dollar beverage brand.”
Onuu CEO Felix Ortiz announced the official launch of his company at L’ATTITUDE and explained their unique product, which provides an all-in-one financial services app for average Americans.
Brian Cornell, CEO of Target, said, “We’re the place you discover up-and-coming new brands. I love to see these companies on this stage talk about their success.”
Facts You Can Use to Explain
the New Mainstream Economy
The next time you have an opportunity to explain that U.S. Latinos are the leading drivers of our country’s economic growth, here are a few facts you can use. This is the story of U.S. Latinos and the New Mainstream Economy.
