Can Jaylen Brown bring a Black Wall Street to Boston?

Jaylen Brown plans to use the most lucrative contract in National Basketball Association history to attack the wealth gap.

The Boston Celtics awarded the player a $304 million contract Wednesday. When asked what he plans to do with the money, Brown said he’d like to invest in bringing a Black Wall Street to Boston to bridge what he called an “unsettling” wealth disparity.

“With the biggest financial deal in NBA history, it makes sense to talk about, one, your investment in community, and, two, also, you know, the wealth disparity [in Boston] that no one wants to talk about,” Brown said in a press conference discussing his new contract. “I think through my platform, through influential partners, through selected leaders, government officials — a lot who are in this room — that we could come together and create new jobs, new resources, new businesses, new ideas that could highlight minorities but also stimulate the economy and the wealth gap at the same time.”

According to a 2022 report from Boston University’s Initiative on Cities, U.S.-born Black households in the Boston metropolitan area had median wealth of just $8 in 2014, compared to white households’ median wealth of $256,500.

Wealth inequality in Boston is a serious, complex issue with historical and systemic roots, including the legacy of slavery, redlining and lending practices that still can be felt today, said Akeiva Ellis, an ambassador of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards operating in the Boston area. Ellis is also co-founder of The Bemused, an online financial education company that works at bridging the racial wealth gap through coaching tailored to young adults.

“It's also interesting to note that racial differences in income and wealth aren't strongly connected, according to the 2015 Federal Reserve of Boston study, contrary to what one might expect,” Ellis said in an email. “In fact, the wealth gap widens as income rises for Black families in Boston, partly due to increased demands for family and community support, leaving less for savings and less wealth to pass down to future generations. This begets a chicken-and-egg situation where individuals can't lean on their parents to help with things like paying for college or a down payment on a home, and the cycle continues.”

While commending Brown for speaking out on the issues and wanting to use his resources to affect change, Ellis also cautioned that many individuals who experience a sudden increase in wealth can sometimes lose it despite their best and noble intentions. Brown should focus on securing his own long-term financial well-being and legacy before deciding how best to impact the wealth gap issue, Ellis said.

Beyond focusing on Black business ownership and growth, Brown can consider philanthropic and other investing endeavors while support initiatives for Black Boston residents to get access to competent, ethical financial advice.

“There are many angles through which a significant impact can be made, from helping individuals obtain the necessary skills to accumulate and grow their assets to promoting access to affordable housing, education, healthcare, and quality financial services,” Ellis said. “It's also important to note that the Black community, especially in Boston, is very diverse and has a sizable immigrant population. More and more data is becoming available on the wealth gap drivers within the Black community, so it may also be worth starting or supporting initiatives that impact particular subgroups.”

Brown, who has a history of giving back to the Boston community, said his multiyear plan will include a mix of commercial entities, real estate and residential investments. He also emphasized the importance of education in closing the wealth gap.

“I think education is one of the most powerful devices that we have and is one of the ways our social mobility is being controlled at a very early age,” Brown told a local CBS morning show. "My goal is to build the next leaders, the next generation of leaders for the world. I feel like with the Bridge Program, that's what I'm doing."

He’s also not limiting his thinking to the Boston area. Bridging this gap could improve the entire economy, Brown said, and there is data to back this up. Closing the racial wealth gap could increase the U.S.’s gross domestic product by 4% to 6% by 2028, according to McKinsey & Co.

“I think Boston could be a pilot not just for wealth disparity here in the U.S., but also for around the world,” Brown said during the press conference.

While a lot of athletes do excellent work in their communities, it's refreshing to hear someone talk about making long-term improvements, said Jack Heintzelman, a financial planner with Boston Wealth Strategies and a Boston Celtics fan.

“Rather than a fund, Brown is talking about how can we invest in the education and the results that will come from that over time,” Heintzelman said. “It impacts not only the individual but their friends, family and future generations.”

Massachusetts is not one of the 17 states that require financial literacy education, and Brown’s investment in education could produce “amazing” dividends over time, he said.

“That fact that an athlete is talking about it, I think that’s pretty cool,” Heintzelman added. “The importance of the education and building the right habits when you’re younger can really transform a community like here in Boston.”

[More: To close opportunity gaps, focus on investment education]