By: Ms. Jheri Worldwide
Staff Writer
Atlanta, GA - InvestFest 2025, produced by Earn Your Leisure, once again powerfully demonstrated the strength of the Black community uniting, sharing ideas, resources, and inspiring one another. The crowd was thicker than ever in my three years of attending this event, drawing people from all corners of the globe. The vendor marketplace showcased a plethora of products and services, while engaging and informative speakers from around the world shared their insights. From real estate investing in Africa and the United Arab Emirates to mindful healing as a tool for community empowerment, InvestFest delivered education and inspiration on a grand scale at the Georgia World Congress Center in the heart of downtown Atlanta.
One of the most beautiful additions this particular year, marking the fifth anniversary of the event, was a dedicated children’s area within the vendor marketplace. Here, children from across the country showcased and sold a variety of products alongside their families, from customized flavored lip glosses to books and t-shirts. I was also incredibly excited to hear from prominent thought and cultural leaders John Hope Bryant, Rizza Islam, Issa Rae, 19 Keys, Caleb Silver, and hundreds of others. As an audience, we had the privilege of praying with Earvin “Magic” Johnson, who instructed us to pace ourselves with our goals, embracing his three-year principle. During the Revolutionary Entrepreneurship Panel, Rizza Islam spoke at length on consumerism: “You are losing if you don’t invest in yourself.” He elaborated on the rising cost of consumer goods, “For example, going to the grocery store versus eating fast food. We have to invest in ourselves and look at how to budget.”
The Dubai Real Estate Panel hosted by Matthew Garland, featuring Danyel King and Sandrella Sims, highlighted several key aspects of the region's property market, including the presence of 6,700 millionaires and the importance of relationships in business. They emphasized that maintaining existing connections is easier and more fruitful than seeking new ones. A significant development is the introduction of gambling in the United Arab Emirates, with the Wynn Brand building a resort two hours from Dubai, featuring 1,542 rooms and welcoming investments as low as $200,000 by January 2027. The construction of a $35 billion airport in Dubai South underscores a new focus on villas and townhomes in efforts to attract families. Dubai is also actively creating more land by building on water, with construction operating 24 hours a day. The real estate market operates as a cash-driven economy, with transactions sometimes 50% cash and 50% mortgages, mostly all cash. Notably, cryptocurrency can be used to buy and sell properties. This was a highly informative panel.
The event offered a wealth of opportunities for excitement and unlimited networking. I was thrilled to reunite with individuals I had met at previous InvestFests, and hearing of their progress in investments was truly inspiring. Catching up on our past conversations and witnessing their personal progress was as motivating to me as the powerful conversations between speakers like Steve Harvey and Charlamagne tha God, as well as other well-known figures who discussed the media landscape, highlighting the disparity between online discourse and in-person/podcast conversations.
I remain a staunch champion for Earn Your Leisure. What Michael McDonald, Troy Millings, and Rashad Bilal have built with their team is truly something difficult to express in words; it must be experienced firsthand. The resources and information provided by major financial institutions like Fidelity Investments and Invesco QQQ were instrumental in closing gaps in my understanding of my personal investment allocations and aiding decisions regarding my immediate next steps. During the festival, I was able to book a one-on-one session with a Fidelity advisor who looked like me. What was scheduled as a 15-minute meeting extended to 45 minutes. Not only was I inspired by her journey, but I now feel a newfound confidence because I have a real person to call on when it comes to portfolio management with Fidelity. I now have a transparent financial advisor on my side who speaks my language and understands the tools available to me.
Another significant meeting I had was with Vincent “Bam” MacDonald, the merchandise director for Earn Your Leisure, whom I met last year at InvestFest after creating an outfit utilizing their merchandise. Well ahead of the festival, he graciously sent me several pieces from their collection, which I proudly wore over the weekend. Many people inquired about my black embroidered shirt-dress, and I was able to direct them to the EYL merch store in the vendor marketplace. Being able to connect with people directly involved with the organization hosting this major event made me feel even more welcomed and truly a part of this powerful movement that has provided me with insights and resources that have tangibly changed my life and improved my financial standing for the better. One of the panelists, Cedrick Nash, mentioned that “Your courage has to be greater than your doubt and fear,” and those words I will take with me and hold on to until InvestFest 2026!