The Story of Two Trailblazers: Varo Bank and Russell Westbrook
Middle and lower income households account for four out of every five Americans. The middle class, essential workers, the working class — this massive group goes by many names and serves as an engine of economic activity. But structural inequality has eroded spending power of lower and middle income households — and closed off most avenues to grow wealth and achieve the American Dream. We all know the familiar headwinds: steep growth in education and healthcare costs, reduced upward mobility, slowing wage growth and higher cost of living — factors that in most cases hit even harder in communities of color.
This isn’t a problem for some of us, it’s a problem for all of us — and we all need to be part of the solution.
Growing up in South Los Angeles, Russell saw the challenges of trying to build wealth in a lower income community first hand. His lived experience motivated him to start the Russell Westbrook Why Not? Foundation and dedicate a big part of his life to directly supporting community-based education and family service programs.
We both share the belief that a healthy relationship with money underpins a strong community. That’s why we are thrilled to join forces and collaborate to build Varo into a truly inclusive banking partner for people who haven’t always been well served by the banking system. Russell is working with Varo as an investor and an advisor to help shape the future of Varo’s impact vision. Varo and Russell are also partnering to develop new programs that build financial resilience in underserved communities.
Varo is an entirely new kind of bank — tech-driven, inclusively designed, and organized around a core social impact mission — it’s a better, fairer bank for everyone.
One key element that drew Russell to Varo is the focus the company places on helping to educate people on how to better save and manage their money. Russell opened his first bank account when he was in college but no one explained how anything related to money was supposed to work. It wasn’t until Russell joined the NBA that he started to learn money skills — far later than it should have been.
Varo and Russell both share a commitment to building lasting change for people who have been underrepresented or completely left out of the financial system — particularly for communities of color and communities that have seen decades of underinvestment like the inner city. This is a unique collaboration aimed at addressing systemic financial inequality head-on — and together, build stronger communities and a brighter financial future for millions of Americans.
