According to a 2005 report by the National Urban League, "One in 20 black men are incarcerated, while one in 155 men are, and for every three black men in college, four are incarcerated. Political correspondent Keli Goff has even gone on to describe the current generation -- the hip hop generation -- as part hip hop, part Huxtable. She states that in America racism exists, but so does Oprah Winfrey. Considering your success, as a product of the post-civil rights generation and member of the current "hip-hop generation," what is your perspective on race in America, and how has race impacted your business pursuits?

Without a doubt, racism has become institutionalized. I own a real estate asset management company where I manage over $30 million of assets for major financial institutions. Looking at my own success, one could say that racism does not exist, but look at one of the biggest financial crises this country is facing in the sub-prime market and the methodology used by major financial institutions in loaning money. A lot of African-Americans, when their credit profiles were pulled, qualified for what's called A-paper loans but were put into bad loans, the sub-prime market. They were taken advantage of.

When we look at education dollars that were cut, who did it affect? It affected HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). Who goes to HBCUs? Black people.

I had an office on Wall Street for nine years. There were people who did not even speak to me in the elevator. They are the wall of Wall Street. I do not think that it is a coincidence that there are more of us, as the old saying goes, at state pen than in Penn State.

So we have to look at the fact that racism exists and that a Dr. Farrah Gray or an Oprah Winfrey or a Bob Johnson does not erase racism. It is not possible for us to erase racism just because African-Americans have reached a level of financial success and crossover appeal. I have book sales in Russia, Indonesia, Canada, Australia, but they took my picture off the book in the Russian version of Reallionaire. That was amazing to me. It's selling and they said, "We have to take his picture off because we are uncertain about how he will be received."

You mention Oprah Winfrey and Bob Johnson. Who else do you admire in the business world, and what is it about them that you try to emulate?

One of the people that I have respected, and one of the people I have learned so much from studying, is Reggie Lewis. But I never give credit to just one person, never. I give credit to everyone, from Madam C. J. Walker to the Freedmen. They say black people do not save, but that is not true. In fact, many of the freedmen in the South bought themselves out of slavery by saving their money. A lot of our people are unaware of that. I look back to those days and get quite a bit of inspiration.