Curtis "Wall Street" Carroll: How I learned to read -- and trade stocks -- in prison
Curtis 'Wall Street' Carroll: Hur jag lärde mig att läsa - och handla på börsen - i fängelset
Curtis “Wall Street” Carroll overcame poverty, illiteracy, incarceration and a lack of outside support to become a stock investor, creator and teacher of his own financial literacy philosophy. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
and I jumped on top of a fence.
och hoppade upp på ett staket.
in my book bag
jag hade i väskan
was standing on top of me,
vakten ovanpå mig
steal something you can carry."
du stjäla något du kan bära."
into the custody of my mother,
i min mors vårdnad,
"How'd you get caught?"
morbror sade: "Hur blev du fast?"
to take all the quarters."
ju inte ta alla mynt."
Vad skulle jag ha gjort?"
What am I supposed to do?"
to burglarize another arcade game.
med mig för att råna ett annat spel.
of my immediate family
och nära familjemedlemmar
of living with family, friends,
in breadlines and soup kitchens.
brödköer och soppkök.
or the good guy.
onda eller den goda killen.
begick jag mitt första brott,
that I was told that I had potential
att jag hade potential
kunde ha blivit advokat,
that I could be a lawyer,
Jag kunde varken läsa, skriva eller stava.
I couldn't read, write or spell.
kändes mera som min.
crime was my way to go.
about this robbery that we could do.
vi kunde genomföra.
financial nation in the world,
ekonomiskt starkaste länder,
stand in line at a blood bank
köa till blodbanken
just to try to feed her kids.
för att köpa mat åt barnen.
on her arms to day to show for that.
ännu kvar på armarna.
were doing to take what they wanted,
för att ta det de ville ha,
the robbers, the blood bank.
really did rule the world,
verkligen i världen
for robbery and murder
för rån och mord
rule more than they did on the streets,
på gatan, är pengar kung i fängelset,
the sports page of the newspaper
sportsidorna i tidningen
kunde läsa dem för mig,
picked up the business section.
"Hey youngster, you pick stocks?"
"Handlar du på börsen?"
where white folks keep all their money."
håller alla sina pengar."
en strimma av hopp,
that I saw a glimpse of hope,
of what stocks were,
to hide my illiteracy
dölja min analfabetism
prey among predators,
I'd ever done in my life.
jag någonsin gjort i mitt liv.
time of my life,
I had ever dreamed of:
jag någonsin drömt om:
everything I could get my hands on:
som jag kunde få tag på:
street signs, everything.
gatuskyltar, allt.
and know how to spell.
att kunna läsa och stava.
"Man, what you eating?"
och sa "Vad äter du?"
I said, "N-O. No."
Jag sa: "N-E-J, nej."
for the first time in my life read.
i mitt liv som jag kunde läsa.
from it was amazing.
med nyfunnen självkänsla
of the newspaper.
ur dagstidningen.
financially manage money and invest,
pengar och investera,
responsibility for my own actions.
måste ta ansvar för mina handlingar.
in a very complex environment,
mycket svår miljö,
for that, and I did.
och det gjorde jag.
that could teach incarcerated men
som kunde lära fångar
through prison employments.
från fängelsejobb.
would provide transferrable tools
överförbara kunskaper
when we reenter society,
när vi återvänder till samhället,
who didn't commit crimes.
som inte begått brott.
over 60 percent of NBA players
60 % av NBA-spelarna
derive from financial issues.
härstammar från pengaproblem.
that people worked their whole lives,
homes and material stuff
going to help incarcerated individuals
kunna hjälpa forna fångar
to meet those on the path
att möta dem på vägen
I now cared about my community.
brydde jag mig om min omgivning.
I cared about my community.
om min omgivning.
and the lower class in our society
och den lägre samhällsklassen
of the American population
amerikanska befolkningen
driven by financial prosperity?
som styrs av ekonomisk framgång?
vår sociala status,
transporter och mat;
that most people can't manage.
de flesta inte kan hantera.
than any other issue.
säkerhet än något annat.
Department of Corrections,
with money-related crimes:
pengarelaterade brott:
fraud, larceny, distortion --
stöld, utpressning -
och utan att spara något.
200 dollars gate money and told,
han 200 dollar vid porten och ett:
Don't come back to prison."
problemen. Kom inte tillbaka."
or long-term financial plan,
eller en långsiktig finansiell plan,
that led him to prison in the first place?
som förde honom till fängelset?
already chose for him, probably.
åt honom, antagligen.
Emotional Literacy.
Emotional Literacy.
your emotional decisions
sina emotionella beslut
to personal finance:
för personliga finanser:
by allowing your money to work for you
genom att låta dem jobba för dig
before we reenter society.
innan vi återvänder till samhället.
without these life skills.
utan dessa livskunskaper.
can invest and manage money
och hantera pengar
you need, have or want better than you,
pengar du behöver, har eller vill ha,
ladies and gentlemen.
är inte en kunskap, mina damer och herrar.
of a proper lifestyle.
biprodukt av en stabil livsstil.
can become a taxpaying citizen,
kan bli en skattebetalande medborgare,
taxpaying citizen can remain one.
skattebetalare kan förbli det.
between those people who we influence:
mellan dem vi påverkar:
that crime and money are related.
pengar och brott hör ihop.
that you've been out there hearing.
du lyssnat på där ute.
of what's been crippling our society
som förlamat vårt samhälle,
to be better life managers.
till bättre livshantering.
and easy to use curriculum
och lättanvänd plan
and emotional literacy really is.
och emotionell kunnighet verkligen är.
in the audience and you said,
and I don't buy it,"
it costs you every time you get emotional.
kostar dig varje gång du blir emotionell.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Curtis "Wall Street" Carroll - Financial literacy advocateCurtis “Wall Street” Carroll overcame poverty, illiteracy, incarceration and a lack of outside support to become a stock investor, creator and teacher of his own financial literacy philosophy.
Why you should listen
The media calls Curtis "Wall Street" Carroll the "Oracle of San Quentin" for his stock picking prowess and ability to translate financial information into simple language for his students.
Carroll grew up in Oakland, California surrounded by poverty. In 1996, at 17 years old, he committed a robbery where a man was killed. He turned himself in and ended up an illiterate teenager in prison with a 54-to-life sentence. While in prison, the stock market captured his attention, but due to his illiteracy he couldn't learn more about it. Motivating by the lure of financial gaining, he taught himself how to read at 20-21 years old, and then he started studying the stock market. Carroll's role models changed from drug dealers and sports figures to Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. He wanted others to learn this new way of making money.
When Carroll arrived at San Quentin in 2012, he met Troy Williams, who helped him start the Financial Literacy Program. Together they created the philosophy F.E.E.L (Financial Empowerment Emotional Literacy) that teaches people to recognize how their emotions affect their financial decision, and how to separate the two.
Curtis "Wall Street" Carroll | Speaker | TED.com