Interview by Marisa Marconi, Pinnacle Planning Writing
Even at age 32, Roberto Contreras IV has more history with EB-5 than many. Professionally, he has cultivated a name in the industry as the Managing Director of Houston EB-5 Regional Center and, last year, became the youngest member of IIUSA’s Board of Directors. But Roberto’s EB-5 story is not just a story of his career, but the story of his family.
Roberto’s father, Roberto Contreras III, was a direct EB-5 investor in the early years of the program, launching a stone import and fabrication business that ultimately grew into a $350 million nationwide company and created more than 1,200 jobs in the United States. After gaining citizenship and then selling the company in 2009, Contreras III turned his focus to real estate and launched Houston EB-5 in 2011 with a commitment to providing other EB-5 investors with a viable path to their own American dreams.
It was a mission that Roberto was poised to take on, and could have immediately adopted, if not for his drive to define his own path and purpose. “I am my father’s son and I wanted to blaze my own trail,” he explained. After graduating from Swarthmore College in 2012, Roberto moved to Beijing to start a tech company. “I was young and idealistic. I think I was also very prideful.” But EB-5 – and family – was never far away. While pursuing funding for his own venture, Roberto also met with agents and clients in Beijing to facilitate fundraising for his father’s development company and Houston EB-5’s first project.
Ultimately, Roberto’s tech venture failed to gain steam, but his experience and time in China gave him a fresh perspective on building a career and life. “We learn growing up that America is a meritocracy, but when you go abroad, you realize that relationships and the platform that you do or don’t have matter.” This clarity allowed him to return to a familiar path on his own terms and find his purpose. “I was like ‘I should just be doing what’s right in front of me.’ I had enjoyed [real estate development] all along. And that’s when I realized that this is my calling.” He pivoted to focus on EB-5 and the regional center’s activities, opening offices in Beijing and Shanghai and raising capital for more than a dozen projects before returning to Houston in 2017.
In my interview with Roberto, we explored the usual topics for a “spotlight” article – professional highlights, Houston EB-5’s track record, education, and interests – but each topic inevitably led to the same key themes: family, responsibility, hard work, and duty. “My family owes everything to this country and program,” Roberto explained. “The more you are given, the greater responsibility you have to take care of others.” It is clear this ethos colors his approach to everything EB-5 from deal structuring (“I hope everyone defers compensation until the project is a success”), to the responsibility to investors (“For some investors, this is everything to them. To us in the early 90’s, it was everything.”), to the integrity and viability of the program (“what we do has repercussions on our reputation, both individually and as a country”).
More than duty and responsibility, though, Roberto has a passion for his family, work, and the program that is both earnest and refreshing. He continues to work closely with his father at Houston EB-5, is a father of three, and is surrounded by extended family who have called Houston home for three generations. “It’s the ultimate blessing. To feel like what you’re doing is meaningful and are in a place where you feel like you belong,” he concluded. “I just hope that my kids feel like they can take risks [too] and that they will be backed up.” He meant it as a reflection of his own path and that of his family, but I couldn’t help but see the parallel to EB-5 investors and their pursuit of their own place in America. And through that lens, it’s easy to see why Roberto’s passion and purpose run so deep.
