“We need to control the capital because that’s how you control the agenda.”
For Martin Cabrera Jr., CEO of Cabrera Capital, economic influence is about more than purchasing power. Speaking at AVANCE Global 2026 in Las Vegas, the investment banker argued that Latinos must move beyond being recognized as valuable consumers and become more influential investors, business owners, and decision-makers.
It’s a distinction worth examining.
The Latino Donor Collaborative estimates that U.S. Latino economic output reached $5.1 trillion in 2026. That figure reflects an increasingly important contribution to the American economy.
But economic output, consumer spending, and wealth are different measures. A community can generate substantial economic activity without owning a proportional share of the assets behind it.
And that’s where the conversation becomes more complicated.
A Growing Economy, a Persistent Wealth Gap
The Federal Reserve’s 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances illustrates the difference between economic participation and accumulated wealth.
According to the survey, the median Hispanic family held approximately $79,600 in net worth, compared with $332,100 for the median non-Hispanic white family.
In other words, the typical Hispanic family’s net worth was roughly one-quarter that of its white counterpart.
These figures don’t mean Latino households aren’t building wealth. Hispanic median wealth increased between 2022 and 2025. But the substantial gap demonstrates why economic growth alone cannot tell the whole story.
Wealth represents what households own minus what they owe. Unlike income or spending, it reflects accumulated assets that can provide financial security, support future investments, and potentially be passed between generations.
Understanding Latino economic influence therefore requires looking beyond the marketplace.
Why Ownership Changes the Equation
Homeownership offers one example of how economic participation can translate into asset ownership.
According to the 2025 State of Hispanic Homeownership Report from the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), Hispanic households added 441,000 owner-households in 2025, bringing the total to a record of approximately 10.2 million.
Yet the Hispanic homeownership rate declined slightly to 48.5 percent as the formation of new households outpaced ownership gains.
The numbers illustrate both progress and an ongoing challenge.
Owning a home can help families build equity through mortgage payments and potential property appreciation. But rising housing costs, limited supply, and financing barriers can make that opportunity difficult to access.
Business ownership represents another pathway.
U.S. Census Bureau data show that Hispanic-owned employer businesses numbered approximately 465,000 in 2022, generating more than $650 billion in annual revenue.
These enterprises create jobs, build business equity, and give their owners a direct stake in economic growth.
Still, ownership alone doesn’t guarantee prosperity. Businesses require financing, access to customers, and opportunities to expand.
Beyond Ownership: Who Controls the Capital?
For Cabrera, the next challenge involves influencing where capital flows.
His firm works with major corporations and institutional clients, while its real estate development business is involved in a $550 million Chicago project.
During his AVANCE Global conversation, Cabrera described intentionally working with Latino attorneys, contractors, and engineers.
His approach illustrates how investment decisions can create opportunities beyond a project’s immediate owners.
The broader question is whether Latino entrepreneurs and financial firms have sufficient access to the capital and institutional relationships needed to participate in projects of that scale.
Research from the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative has documented financing challenges facing Latino-owned businesses, reinforcing the importance of examining not only who starts companies, but who can fund their growth.
For corporate leaders, that raises questions about supplier relationships, investment opportunities, and how potential business partners are evaluated.
Latino economic influence is already visible in what the community produces and consumes. Its next chapter may be defined by something less visible: how much of the economy Latinos own, and how much influence they have over what gets built next.
