Howard Dvorkin

Shocked at these numbers and U.S. consumers’ lack of financial education, Dvorkin announced in 2013 that he was stepping down as Consolidated Credit's spokesperson to launch Debt.com, an educational and news site covering consumer debt with the goal to "build an Angie’s List or a Better Business Bureau solely focused on debt, debt relief products, for all types of debt relief." In 2014, Dvorkin was named to the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame.

This opinion has stood in stark contrast to the ever-increasing U.S. consumers’ love of credit cards, and their increasing debt. In 2012, those consumers had an average 3.7 cards and an unpaid balance of over $5,600. Meanwhile, credit card debt totaled nearly $800 billion.

Dvorkin has written two books: Credit Hell (Wiley, 2005) and Power Up (Wiley, 2013). He is a regular personal finance contributor to Entrepreneur and Fox Business and has been quoted as a financial expert by The New York Times, NBC News, CNN, and Bankrate, among other national media outlets.

Dvorkin founded Consolidated Credit in 1993 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It earned an A-plus rating from the Better Business Bureau and eventually grew to be one to the largest counseling and consolidation firms.

Howard Dvorkin (born April 7, 1965) is a CPA, author, national columnist, philanthropist, and founder of the nation's fourth-largest credit counseling agency. The chairman of Debt.com, he has advocated a cash-only lifestyle without credit cards.