– MANhAttAN REsiDENt MANAgER’s Club, iNC. –
Entrepreneur
Michael Rubin: Bankrupt at 16, Millionaire at 21, Billionaire at 38 At the age of 16, Michael Rubin said there are only two kinds of businesspeople: Those who take risks, and those who are rational. What was he? At 16, is it risky to own a snow-ski business in Pennsylvania's sweltering summers while owing creditors more than $200,000? At 21, is it rational to own a business worth $1 million, and $50 million a couple of years later? According to Rubin, being $200,000 in debt was "a near-to-death" encounter. Somehow, someway, he managed to pacify his creditors with the $37,000 he borrowed from his father. Then, honoring his Dad's terms of the deal, he enrolled in college. Six weeks later, he dropped out of Villanova University. Too boring, he said, answering the calls of his businesses. Working smart had inspired Rubin since he was a kid. At the age of eight, according to Enrepreneur.com, he was walking door-to-door selling vegetable seeds to his
Community banking makes towns flourish
In this day of mergers, acquisitions, and massively large corporations, it may seem slightly surprising that community banks still flourish in the face of big competition. But community banks are seen as critical to the country’s economy and serve an important role. In fact, The Federal Reserve System acknowledged the importance of community banks when it started publishing Community Banking Connections. It defines community banks as those with less than $10 billion in total assets. Community banks are typically more agile and flexible in their lending because they understand their community and customers on a more intimate level. And a lot of the U.S. economy flows through them. According to The Independent Community Bankers of America, community banks:
West Philadelphia neighbors. At 12, he'd opened Mike's Ski Shop in the basement of his parents' home. At 14, he was operating a chain of ski shops, businesses, and a discount ski equipment retail shop (hence, the debt). At 19, he had merged his burgeoning ski business, KPR Sports (named with his parents' initials), with then publiclytraded athletic shoe company Ryka to form Global Sports Inc. (later GSI Commerce). At 26, GSI was generating more than $130 million a year. At 38, Rubin had sold GSI Commerce to eBay for $2.4 billion. Rubin then bought and merged Fanatics (a licensed apparel retailer), Rue La La (a fashion flash site seller), and Shop Runner (a retail benefits program) and molded them into Kynetic, a billion-dollar e-commerce company. Rubin is 47 now, and according to Forbes, his net worth is $3 billion.
How did the rate cut affect consumers?
In late July, The Federal Reserve cut rates for the first time since 2008 when it announced a quarter-point cut in interest rates. The rate cut directly impacts banks and other financial institutions who use short-term borrowing, but it also affects consumers. At its core, the cut is intended to make loans and funding accessible. For those who invest in CDs and the like, a cut means a little lower return. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage fell to 3.75 percent, down from a high of almost 5 percent in 2018. According to The New York Times, the rate on the average five-year loan for a new car was just under 4.75 percent. All in all, a modest rate cut does not impact the average consumer’s daily life or pocketbook. But the idea is that a rate cut could hold off a recession and layoffs.
* Comprise 99 percent of all banks * Provide more than 60 percent of all small business loans * Make more than 80 percent of agricultural loans * Have more than 50,000 locations nationwide * Employ nearly 750,000 people
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