For many young people in the African-American community, the concept of the "American Dream" involves reaching fame and fortune as an athlete or entertainer.

Unfortunately, the odds of achieving that dream are roughly equivalent to winning a a major lottery jackpot.

But, what about the people who break through?

In his upcoming book, "NEWBOS: The Rise of America's New Black Overclass," Wall Street Journal reporter and CNBC correspondent Lee Hawkins explores the economic and social ramifications facing a new class of multimillionaires. Hawkins interviewed LeBron James, Terrell Owens, Puffy Combs, Wyclef Jean, Russell Simmons and others to talk about perils and pitfalls faced by self-made young black millionaires, many of whom did come from the worlds of sports, entertainment and media.

OnMilwaukee.com caught up with Hawkins, a University of Wisconsin graduate who spent several years at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and talked about the book and corresponding CNBC special.

OnMilwaukee.com: It seems that everyone is talking about the economy these days. And sports are always a hot topic. What prompted you to combine the two?

Lee Hawkins: Sports are about economics. Sports are about branding, as we're seeing with guys like LeBron James, and, on the negative side, Terrell Owens, that can't seem to get it right.

OMC: When I first heard about the special, I must confess, I wondered if there would be an element of "Cribs," where guys were showing off extravagant toys.

LH: We do show a lot of the toys that these young men have. It's a part of their lifestyle, to a certain extent. It has a lot to do with not having anything when they were young. The idea that you give any 21-year-old $10 million or $15 million, all of a sudden all the things they never had, they want.

And, they want to provide things for their mothers and the people around them -- that's not always the wise thing to do.

We wanted to take people inside the economic experience of the top athletes and entertainers in America and really talk about what that means in the context of race, wealth and class in America.

OMC: At the risk of sounding insensitive, a lot of white and Latino athletes and entertainers encounter sudden spikes in fame and fortune. What about the stories about people who win the lottery up in Fond du Lac and then end up bankrupt two years later? Isn't that similar? Is the black experience markedly different and should we care about it more?

LH: It's not that we should care more about it. It's the story I happen to be working on. I've been long interested in the issue of race; it's such a sensitive topic. When you think about it, this is a phenomenon that is concentrated mainly among young black men. Young black males and money -- having a lot of money -- those are kind of incompatible concepts in America.

We're trying to look at uber-wealth through the prism of guys like LeBron James and through the prism of America's first black billionaire, Bob Johnson (founder of Black Entertainment Television).

When you look at it, African-Americans tend to build uber-wealth in the sports, entertainment and media industries. Look at Oprah Winfrey, Bob Johnson, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan. These are individuals who have built businesses and they've done it a lot as the talent. The thing that's made them rich (is that) they've taken ownership over their syndication and their brands. That's what we need to get black people to start to do in these industries.

It's not about buying another Bentley. It's about how can you own yourself.

OMC: I remember Chris Rock talking about the difference between being rich and being wealthy ...

LH: Yes, and he was right on the money about that. When you look at my book, I spent a lot of time with the guys who were with Darrent Williams, the Denver Broncos player who was murdered in a drive-by shooting. These were the guys that grew up with him.

It's interesting -- when guys get into these high-profile accidents and incidents, people say "Why don't they cut off their friends? Why don't they leave the ghetto and go to a gated community?" It's not that easy for them. Basically, these are people that were with them when they were nobody. These are guys that trained with them. These are people that helped them when their family's electricity was cut off, the people whose houses they went to in order to have heat.

When they become major, they want these people in their community. They're not accepted in communities like Mequon or Edina, Minn., because a lot of times, they're the youngest person in the neighborhood. They've got the biggest house on the block. Their kids are a lot younger than the kids of the dentists and doctors who they live alongside. They have four and five cars -- Hummers and Escalades -- and there is a lot of resentment toward these people. They don't fit into these new communities.

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Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by FunkyBrewster on March 20, 2009 at 6:34 a.m. (report)

Trained Monkeys. Where are the INNOVATORS? Is this the dawn of the BLACK RENAISSANCE or BLACK RECESSION? You can follow us but can you LEAD US?

Posted by tdh on March 18, 2009 at 1:56 p.m. (report)

Great Article, I think the subject crosses all lines though. I come from a small, low per capita income, mainly white town. Too much I see my high school classmates that were better students than I was that didn't go to college becuase they had to help out their lower income families. People must realize that they are actually hindering people by doing this. If the kids went to college or even got an advanced degree, they'd be a lot better off in the long run. If you cant support yourself and need help, maybe its time to change your lifestyle, downsize expenses, etc. Not chain yourself to someone so you can pay your bills with their money.