 Fame
& Fortune: Uchenna and Joyce Agu
Break out of your rut, advise "Amazing
Race" winners
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The husband and wife team of Uchenna and Joyce Agu
claimed the $1 million prize on the seventh season of CBS's hit
reality series "The Amazing Race." Their adventures traversed
five continents, 25 cities and 40,000 miles.
The prize gave the couple much more than money. Uchenna
had been employed at WorldCom and Joyce at Enron; financial strife
nearly led them to divorce. They both lost their life savings, as
well as their jobs. Additionally, the couple has had fertility problems,
and now they are able to address those costs. They are now national
representatives for a national fertility campaign, RESOLVE.
Bankrate spoke to Uchenna and Joyce about their sudden
life changes for the good.
Bankrate: How has winning
changed your life?
Uchenna Agu: So many different
ways. Everyday, all of us have little dreams. Most of the time,
we have to leave them. Now, we get to try them.
Joyce Agu: We had average
debt, like most Americans. Being debt-free is nice.
Bankrate: You each worked
for companies wracked by scandal and alleged financial crimes by
many top executives. Would you ever work for a corporation again?
Uchenna Agu: Ha! Winning
the money allows us options. We had become paralyzed. We wouldn't
mind working with a corporation, but in a different capacity. We
could do endorsements. We don't want to do what we don't want to
do. We don't want to rely on a corporation; we want to be better-prepared.
Wealth in America is based on entrepreneurialism.
Bankrate: What did you
each do for a living?
Joyce Agu: I did telecommunication
sales. Now, I'm a sales manager for Southwestern Bell.
Uchenna Agu: I was an
energy broker, with natural gas. Now, I'm a real estate developer
with my own company.
Bankrate: The stress of
working under terrible conditions threatened your marriage. What
lessons would you give for our readers about that?
Uchenna Agu: Most Americans
get locked into a rut. Dare to step out of the box. It doesn't have
to be entering "The Amazing Race." But, if you keep doing
the same things, you'll get the same results. Also, dare to learn
something new, so you won't have the same problems. You have to
look at the European way of looking at things: Do you live to work
or work to live? One way, you aren't with your family. The other,
you can take vacations with your family and enjoy them.
Bankrate: You still reside
in Houston, a city plagued with oil busts, failing corporations,
an influx of people from New Orleans and its own hurricane problems.
With your cash and opportunities, have you thought about moving?
Uchenna Agu: Moving? No.
Houston is the center of the U.S. It still has affordable living.
It has a decent lifestyle. You can be in California in three hours.
Joyce Agu: We know that
Houston has its problems, but every major city has its problems.
Bankrate: Have you had
other opportunities as a result of your winning?
Joyce Agu: Absolutely.
We always wanted to help infertility causes. We also help a halfway
house for children under distressed conditions, those with parents
in jail or with AIDS.
Bankrate: Do you manage
your own money?
Uchenna Agu: No, we do
not. There are lessons about handling that kind of money that we
have not learned. We got recommendations from friends who did have
that kind of money. We got unbiased advice from a nonproduct-driven
accountant.
Joyce Agu: We pay our
taxes; we're no Richard Hatch.
Uchenna Agu: It's like,
30 million people saw you on TV. Don't you think one of those people
might be an IRS agent? We were told, there were no write-offs; you
have to pay. We paid. After six months, people still think we have
a million dollars, even though it's spent.
Bankrate: Do you have
investments?
Joyce Agu: We have diverse
investments, conservative to mid. We have investments in money markets,
in technology. We're in the middle zone.
Uchenna Agu: We're young;
we're hedging our nest egg. We heard from relatives we hadn't heard
from in a long time, looking for a quick fix to their problems.
But, it's not like we won $300 million in the Powerball.
Joyce Agu: Caller ID helps.
Uchenna Agu: So does learning
to say no.
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