While NBA superstar Russell Westbrook is known for stacking up triple doubles on the court, one of his business ventures outside of the arena aims to help communities stack up their bank accounts. The Washington Wizards superstar's latest venture, a partnership with Varo Bank which he led on a $63 million fundraising round, is set to help members of underserved communities get the tools needed to become financially literate.
Donnell Beverly, president of Russell Westbrook Enterprises, said the athlete's personal experience growing up in such a community provided the motivation to give back.
"Financial literacy is something that Russell knows is empowering communities — communities of color, underserved communities — to build generational wealth. So, being at the forefront of financial literacy and standing there and letting communities know this is a way to empower your household and generations to come was really important to Russell," Beverly told Cheddar.
As part of the deal with Varo Bank, Westbrook will be taking a very hands-on advisory role that Beverly said will help the mission as he is able to "authentically and organically" connect with familiar communities.
For Varo Bank COO Wesley Wright, the monetary investment is secondary compared to the star power and visibility that Westbrook brings to the brand. With the all-star onboard, the bank has an opportunity to really develop solutions "for people who really need it," he said.
"Varo is an all-digital bank focused on everyday Americans and looking to provide really high-quality financial services without a lot of punitive fees. What differentiates us is we're the first all-digital bank to get a national banking charter, the same as Citibank or Bank of America, which allows us to offer a full suite of services to customers — deposits, lending, investments — to help them build their financial future," Wright noted.
Among other things Westbrook and Varo are setting out to do is provide people with access to affordable credit. While financial literacy is the current focus for Westbrook, Beverly said the team is also looking to connect with businesses that align with their social aspirations.
"Looking at industries like healthcare and nutrition, things where we can have a real social impact," Beverly said, noting that coupling Westbrook's "social activism with capital investments is a way to really drive value to companies and also impact the communities."
Joe Cecela, Dream Exchange CEO, explains how they are aiming to form the first minority-controlled company to operate an exchange in U.S. history. Watch!
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
You'll just have to wait for interest rates (and prices) to go down. Plus, this deal's a steel, the big carmaker wedding is off, and bribery is back, baby!
It’s a chicken-and-egg problem: Restaurants are struggling with record-high U.S. egg prices, but their omelets, scrambles and huevos rancheros may be part of the problem. Breakfast is booming at U.S. eateries. First Watch, a restaurant chain that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, nearly quadrupled its locations over the past decade to 570. Fast-food chains like Starbucks and Wendy's added more egg-filled breakfast items. In normal times, egg producers could meet the demand. But a bird flu outbreak that has forced them to slaughter their flocks is making supplies scarcer and pushing up prices. Some restaurants like Waffle House have added a surcharge to offset their costs.
William Falcon, CEO and Founder of Lightning AI, discusses the ongoing feud between Elon Musk and Sam Altman, and how everyday people can use AI in their lives.
