When Shareef “Ross Mac” McDonald stepped away from a high-powered finance career on Wall Street to launch Maconomics in 2019, he was intent on bringing the lessons of Wharton and Morgan Stanley back to his own community. For the Chicago native, the mission has always been to bridge the gap between Wall Street and Main Street so everyday people can learn to build wealth.
“I realized that a lot of the rooms I was in, people who look like me would never even see them, let alone hear what was going on,” Mac told BLACK ENTERPRISE ahead of his InvestFest live session, “I wanted to find a better way to bring Wall Street to Main Street. That’s how Maconomics started.”
One moment that shaped his perspective came while he was working at GCM Grosvenor. “I was looking at an investment that seemed great on paper,” he said. “But when I peeled back the layers, it was a portfolio of payday loans and cash advances. That’s when I realized our community was being preyed on.”
That realization lit the spark. He began making short videos for YouTube that explained financial news in plain language. “I wanted to be the urban Jim Cramer or Dave Ramsey,” Mac said. What started as quick clips eventually grew into Maconomics, a platform that now reaches millions and draws thousands to his annual Wealth Summit in Chicago.
The Misconceptions That Hold Us Back
Mac said one of the biggest barriers he hears about from the community is the idea that you need to be rich to invest.
“I get it,” he admitted. “It’s hard to think about being a long-term investor when you’re living paycheck to paycheck. But building wealth is about being consistent and disciplined. You don’t need to be wealthy to start. You build wealth over time.”
He added that too often, Black people are taught to be consumers before they’re taught to own. “I always tell people to pay yourself first. Everybody says ‘you only live once,’ but what if tomorrow does come? You’ve got to be ready for that.”
Small Steps With Big Impact
For people looking to start right away, Mac’s advice is practical. “First step is budgeting,” he said. “Know where your money is going. Put a line item in your budget for investing the same way you do for bills. We pay our phone bill every month, but we don’t pay our future self.”
From there, he suggests opening a brokerage account and making small, consistent investments. “Even $100 a month into the S&P 500,” he said. “That’s how you start paying your future self.”
Speaking the Language of the Culture
Mac believes his strength lies in being able to break down complex concepts into terms that feel relatable. “As someone from the South Side of Chicago who also worked on Wall Street, I can speak all the languages,” he said. “But when it comes to financial literacy, you’ve got to meet people where they’re at. I always think, how would I explain this to an eighth grader?”
That approach has made Maconomics resonate across social platforms. “Our community wants to learn,” he said. “It’s about giving them information they can actually use and put into action.”
Looking forward, Mac sees even bigger opportunities ahead. “In five years, Maconomics will be a billion-dollar fintech company,” he said. “We’ll be working with schools, athletic programs, and companies, giving people financial literacy at their fingertips.”
For Ross Mac, the message is simple: don’t be afraid to invest. With discipline, consistency, and the right tools, wealth-building is possible—one step, one budget, one investment at a time.
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