PHOTOS: Jay-Z at the world premiere of "The Harder They Fall" held on October 6, 2021. (File Photo by: zz/KGC-247/STAR MAX/IPx 2021) Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testifies during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing at the U.S. Capitol on March 25, 2021. (House Energy and Commerce Committee via AP)
Billionaires Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and Jack Dorsey have shared some of their wealth – their bitcoin wealth that is – with residents of Marcy Houses, the Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn-based public housing complex where Jay-Z grew up.
The duo granted $1,000 in bitcoin to each adult Marcy resident who completed their Bitcoin Academy’s inaugural cohort, a free 12-week program offered exclusively to Marcy residents that aimed to “provide education and empower the community with knowledge about the financial system of the future.”
According to Business Insider, Jay-Z and Dorsey funded the $1,000 grants to over 350 Marcy residents with their own money.
In addition to the grants, the program offered dinner, childcare, smartphones and MiFi devices to participants in need. Courses included titles like “Wealth Building and Assets,” “Why Decentralization Matters,” “Staying Safe from Scammers,” “Bitcoin & Taxes,” and “Careers in Crypto,” Insider reported.
The financial benefit may be what’s making headlines, but one Marcy resident told Insider the overall program has helped her gain the necessary tools to build generational wealth for her daughter.
“I already know that she’s gonna have wealth, because every decision I’ve made since she was born has been to make sure that she’s set up. The goal is for her not to grow up in the projects like I did, like her aunts and uncles did. That’s the goal,” said Mariela Regalado, a single mother who noted Jay-Z has always shown Marcy Houses love through “hood philanthropy.”
In her opinion, the Bitcoin Academy was an evolution of that and a significant step in implementing her plan to build generational wealth.
“In order to get that, it’s not only that I need financial literacy, but I also need access to things that are gonna make us financially free or at least financially independent,” Regalado continued. “So, my daughter already has her own wallet. I’m stacking stacks for her, and I probably wasn’t gonna be able to say that back in June before the Academy, but now I can, because now I know what all that means.”
Lamar Wilson, founder of Black Bitcoin Billionaire who was an instructor at the Academy, said it was important Black and other marginalized communities have access to the information covered in the Academy.
“Because I understand the information and I can break it down into a vernacular that others can understand, especially folks from where I’m from, I feel like it’s almost my obligation to make sure I get the information to them,” Wilso said. “And it’s not to like recommend them to buy bitcoin or try to get them to invest all their money or anything like that. It’s just really, let me provide the information and allow you as a very intelligent being to make your own decisions.”
Gloria Carter – Jay-Z’s mother, president and co-founder of the Shawn Carter Foundation – expressed her excitement at the success of The Bitcoin Academy’s inaugural cohort.
“Marcy residents showed up. The over 350 people who attended The Bitcoin Academy classes let us know that this education is important to them – and that it matters,” Gloria Carter said in a statement. “What also matters is providing the necessary resources such as dinner, childcare, devices, internet access, dedicated staff and instructors so that as many people as possible could participate in person and online. I am so grateful to the community that came together to make this happen, and especially to all the class participants who are now more empowered to make their own financial decisions with greater knowledge. Knowledge is Power. It’s now up to everyone who participated to empower and prepare the next generation!”
IN THE ORIGINAL PHOTOS:
Jay-Z at the world premiere of “The Harder They Fall” held on October 6, 2021 during the opening night gala of the 65th BFI London Film Festival at the Southbank Centre in London, England, UK. (File Photo by: zz/KGC-247/STAR MAX/IPx 2021)
In this image from video, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testifies during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Thursday, March 25, 2021. (House Energy and Commerce Committee via AP)
