John Hope Bryant

John Hope Bryant is an American entrepreneur, prominent thought leader, author, philanthropist, and a leading expert in financial literacy and economic inclusion. Referred to as the “conscience of capitalism” by numerous Fortune 500 CEOs, Bryant is the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Operation HOPE, Inc. the nation’s largest nonprofit provider of financial literacy services to youth and adults. Bryant is also chairman and chief executive officer of John Hope Bryant Holdings, Bryant Group Ventures, Bryant Group Advisors, and executive chairman of The Promise Homes Company, the largest for-profit minority-controlled owner of institutional-quality, single-family residential rental homes in the U.S.

Bryant is responsible for financial literacy becoming the official policy of the U.S. federal government. He is the only American citizen to ever inspire the renaming of a building on the White House campus; from the US Treasury Annex Building to the Freedman’s Bank Building, in honor of Lincoln’s unfinished work to teach freed slaves about money, in 1865. Bryant also inspired the Treasury Department to host a Freedman’s Bank Forum, which has continued annually under successive administrations.

Bryant was named in 2024 by TIME Magazine to their inaugural list of The Closers, 18 global leaders working to close the racial wealth gap, he is a CNBC Contributor, host of the iHeart Radio podcast, “Money and Wealth with John Hope Bryant,” a member of the CNBC Global Financial Wellness Council and the CNBC CEO Council, and a best-selling author of six books, including "Financial Literacy For All," released April 2024. He is one of the only bestselling authors on economics and business leadership in the world today who is African American.

Bryant’s financial empowerment work has been recognized by five U.S. Presidents. He has served as an advisor to three sitting U.S. presidents representing both political parties. Bryant has received hundreds of awards and citations for his work, including Oprah Winfrey’s “Use Your Life” Award, and the “John Sherman Award for Excellence in Financial Education” from the U.S. Department of Treasury.