will.i.am, Chaka Khan, Busta Rhymes, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Lady Gaga Promote Financial Literacy

Celebrities have long supported important social causes, but one of the fastest growing areas of high powered celebrity involvement is financial literacy.  In one of the latest moves by an iconic star to highlight financial education as an essential social, economic and political theme, will.i.am hosted a TRANS4M concert to benefit the i.am.angel Foundation, which supports programs aimed at, among other important causes, improving financial literacy.  Other concert attendees and Foundation supporters included a broad range of celebrities, such as Cuba Gooding Jr. and many recent Grammy nominees, such as Chrisette Michele and Frankie J, Busta Rhymes, and legendary popstar Chaka Khan.

The will.i.am concert represented just one of many ways in which the seven-time Grammy award winner has been promoting financial literacy.  Before he became famous with the group The Black Eyed Peas, he had a more difficult upbringing – and he did not forget his roots, as will.i.am continues to focus on helping individuals and families who are challenged with more limited financial and other means.  His i.am.angel Foundation was launched in 2009 to provide assistance to needy college-bound students.

As the financial literacy movement has skyrocketed during the last few years, famous actors, athletes, singers, and other celebrities have flocked to the cause, in part because of the recent spotlight on the significant impact that low levels of financial literacy have on the economic, social and personal financial lives of individuals across the globe.

Lady Gaga is one of those many celebrities embracing financial education.  In late 2012, Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Ball tour included the Born Brave Bus Tour, which was a pre-concert tailgate designed to provide an opportunity for young people to celebrate their individuality in a safe environment where they were encouraged to be the person they were born to be.  Financial literacy offerings were a key element of the program that also connected youth with local financial education resources in their communities.

As the financial literacy movement continues to rocket ahead, industry watchers widely anticipate more celebrities espousing, engaging, and supporting financial education throughout the world.  This will bode well for the continued growth of the financial education crusade in the months and years ahead.