Benaisha Poole-Watson, famous realtor and business mogul is the first Afro-Latina to own an FDIC bank. Photo Credit: Instagram, Benaisha Poole- Watson
By Face2Face Africa
Benaisha Poole-Watson, a famous realtor and business mogul, is the first Afro-Latina to own an FDIC bank. She is a native of South Central Los Angeles’ Crenshaw District, where she witnessed the effects of persistent institutional failure and extreme poverty.
Poole-Watson and her sister, who died at the age of 10, were raised by their Guatemalan immigrant mother, who had to work ten-hour days to support her family after her divorce from her African-American husband. The entrepreneur shared that her mother’s perseverance influenced her current success.
“My mother is an immigrant, and she didn’t get a 401k until she was in her 40s. She worked at a job and didn’t have her retirement set up. So when learning about finances, I learned indirectly. I was just curious and asked the questions. I watched the people around me and noticed the mistakes they would make. So I dug deeper and familiarized myself with how money works,” Poole-Watson told Revolt.