{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"From Adversity to Ownership: Building the American Latino Dream with Fernando De Leon","description":"Fernando de Leon\u2019s perspective on business, family, and opportunity was shaped long before he became a successful entrepreneur. Growing up between Matamoros and Brownsville, surrounded by a sprawling family of t\u00edos, primos, and primas, Fernando learned that family stories were more than memories\u2014they showed him what was possible. For him, family and work ethic remain the two pillars of the American Latino story and the foundation of a community that has spent generations building businesses, roads, schools, and communities across the country. In this conversation with Pedro A. Guerrero, Fernando reflects on his experience with the American dream and makes the case that the next chapter of Latino economic progress must move beyond hard work toward ownership. He describes capital as a supply chain that Latinos need greater access to and argues that building lasting wealth means owning more businesses, real estate, financial services, and other assets that create long-term economic influence. Fernando\u2019s drive comes from experiences his children will never have to endure. After losing his father at 12, his family faced deep financial hardship, including months when tortillas with butter were breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Fernando sees that early adversity as formative, giving him the grit to solve problems and recognize opportunity\u2014qualities that eventually helped turn a teenage job translating for American developers in Matamoros into his first ownership stake in real estate. That opportunity came through his grandmother, Amparo del Fierro, a widowed mother of seven who ran a farm and ranch with little formal education and an extraordinary capacity for work. At 13 or 14, Fernando used her connection with a local union leader to solve a permitting problem that had stalled a development for years. He secured the approval, negotiated a 7.5 percent ownership stake, and became a partner. Today, Fernando wants stories like his to become part of the broader American narrative\u2014not simply as examples of individual success, but as evidence of what becomes possible when Latinos move from building for others to building and owning for themselves. Topics Discussed in This Episode How family storytelling shaped Fernando\u2019s worldview His perspective on immigration, technology, and economic anxiety Why Fernando believes the next step for Latinos is asset ownership Understanding capital as a \u201csupply chain of money\u201d Moving from working inside businesses to owning them Navigating identity and belonging as a border child The influence of his grandmother, Amparo del Fierro Becoming a translator for American developers as a teenager Turning a solved permitting problem into his first ownership stake Why successful Latino stories need greater visibility in America Connect with Fernando de Leon Leon Capital Group Fernando de Leon on LinkedIn AVANCE Global   ","author_name":"The Latino Majority","author_url":"https:\/\/thelatinomajority.com\/","html":"