>> what are you passionate about? >> he's a best selling author, star and friend of president obama. >> we are going win with him as president. that's my personal belief. i know the guy. >> tonight my one on one with hill harper. >> this is my cry, piers. >> and why kathy ireland avoids mirrors. >> i do. who has time for them. >> you're not vain like that at all? >> it's not what my life is about. >> a tribute to her good friend elizabeth taylor. >> you knew where you stood with elizabeth. so honest, genuine and on top of her affairs. >> and how a fair of socks changed her life. >> we started the brand with a pair of socks. >> literally a pair of socks. >> literally. >> these are $1.4 billion socks. this is "piers morgan tonight." you know hill harper from the cbs series "csi new york" and he's author of "the wealth cure." hill harper, i suppose it's a good title. the problem is there ain't much wealth left in america now. wouldn't it be the chronic debt cure? >> i called my publisher and said, you know, can we rename this book the debt cure? they had been printed already. >> i suppose there is a sense of the rich getting richer. the problem is for most average americans, they are getting poorer. the economy is tanking. and they want a way out. tell me how this book gives them concrete ideas for how to get out of the financial malaise most people are in at the moment. >> there is a wealth gap that's happening. that's all over the world. the rich are getting richer and holding a higher percentage of money or wealth that's out there. in the book, i talk about expanding this idea, of redefining money. most of us have been taught the wrong thing about money. that money is a result and we should chase it. we have a debt addiction. if we look at our country, personal debt since 1980 has exploded. >> i love your quote here. this one's from "mad" magazine. the only reason a great many american families don't own an elephant is that they have never been offered an elephant for a dollar down and easy weekly payments. >> right. >> there is truth in this which is that the debt currency, if you like of the modern american economy is part of the problem here. people think they can get anything. whatever they choose. >> we are buying things we can't afford. the debt problem in washington isn't the only debt problem we have. personal debt is a huge issue. 355 billion in personal debt carried in 1980. in 2008 it was $2.8 billion. what happens is many people are just paying credit card minimums and they are stuck. there is no way to save or invest if you are just paying off debt. so the wealth cure is about taking a program tick approach to being more strategic about how you use your money. >> what's the best advice from somebody now watching the markets swirling around all over the world. they are watching savings crash, pensions crash, they are fearful. they don't trust the banks after what happened in the last crash. they're thinking, where do i put my money? gold is too expensive now. where are the safe havens for people? >> the number one safe haven is to invest in yourself first. >> what does that mean? >> if you use what i talk about, first, diagnose is problem. if you are unemployed and you have been attempting to get a job for months on end and you are not finding you're able to get the job then we have to take a step back, re-evaluate and say what training do i need? where are people getting hired? in the tech sector, other sectors where you may not have training. you have to make an adjustment and decide, i'm going to invest in myself to get the training i need to move forward. if you don't have the money to do it, how do i get the money? >> the key thing for me as a premise for the book is how much money do you need to be happy? you have a quote from franklin. money never made a man happy. the more a man has the more he wants. instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one. most rich people i know are miserable. the holy grail never is what they think it is. >> at the end of the day, i talk about in the book that money plus wellness equals wealth. part of the problem with money books is they make you guilty to spend dollars. then there is one with a vision board and money will somehow magically find you. there are truths to both of these. if we talk about money plus wellness is what creates wealth. er what are the wellness factors? love, family, doing something you are passionate about. your health. a huge wellness factor. all the money in the world doesn't matter. for me, while i was writing the book i was diagnosed with cancer. it made me even re-evaluate. >> you have talked about a sense of abandonment from your mother. you were raised by your father. you have been dealt some pretty tough blows that many people don't have to put up with. >> is this my cry, piers? >> no. i don't have you down as the weepy type. all you actors can do it just like that. the point was having had tough blows, what is the secret for fulfillment. you must have reassigned your thought process. materialism isn't the answer. what's the way people at the moment that haven't got much money, how can they find fulfillment without material things? i think it's about taking a step back in life saying, what do i love? what am i passionate about? one of my favorite words in the world is courage. the root is cour or heart. we are pushed in our society to want bling, to want excess, to define success with what's external. whatever jewelry. >> you had a 9-year-old, you were part of a program to help him. >> yes. >> he said he would be successful in his eyes if he had a rolex and a bently. >> yes. >> i found it a disspiriting aspiration. >> those are the images he sees. he sees force fed images from music videos, the entertainment business where that's what happy people have. fancy cars and jewelry. >> how do you change that aspiration for a young boy? >> you challenge it by saying, do you believe that having this thing, having this car really fulfills you? if so, let's talk about that and figure out what that is. i like to go with, what do you really want? i travel the country and i'm sure you meet people as well. after you push them they get away from the material. they talk about love, passion, giving back. >> none of the people i have interviewed on the show in the last six months, when you analyze what's made them happy, the ones who have found fulfillment and contempt, cite anything to do with money. it's about personal relationships, family, friendship. i haven't heard one say, you know, when i finally got the yacht i was fulfilled. >> right. >> they get the yacht and they are normally more unhappy because things that are more important they haven't dealt with. >> absolutely. i try not to go down that road. i will tell you why. it's easy to sit back and say, you are a guy that can afford that. it's easy for you to say it doesn't matter. i would rather be proactive in the conversations. like in my foundation where i deal with young people and say, what are you passionate about? what makes your heart beat a little bit faster. does your heart beat faster when you have a rolex? not really. does it beat faster when you have this car? not really. it beats faster when you do something you love. once you get people to engage in that way, they have big goals and dreams. >> you were at law school with a guy with big goals and dreams, barack obama, became president of the united states. he said the buck stops with him with the economy. how do you think he's doing in particular relation to the economy of this country? >> i think he's doing well. you know, he's building -- when he fist came into office, he was criticized for wanting to bail out the auto industry and save tens of thousands of jobs. he was able to do it specifically. if you look now, the government will make income off the investment made then. fast forward to now. obviously he's dealing with a congress that's hostile. you know, we are talking about a congress that's been in session more than 220 days. they have passed less legislation than any congress in recent memory. there is no jobs bill coming from congress. he can't cite a bill that doesn't exist. he's attempting to do things on his own, compromise and work hard, yet no one's meeting him halfway. >> you went to his 50th birthday party recently. >> yes. >> did you talk to him about money? how to get america back on track? you're mr. money guy. barack obama, come on. >> it was a birthday party. >> what better place? >> you don't want to talk about what's going on out there at a birthday party. you want to have fun, celebrate 50 years of an incredible life. on the personal side i have known him for more than 20 years now. this is coming from my own personal experience with him. i know a lot of people. i can't imagine someone else i would rather have manning our country now. i know for a fact he gets up every day thinking about what's best for our country. he's working hard. i think he's on the right track. >> hold that thought. let's talk more about the president after the break. you did know him well. you went to law school and played basketball with him. i always think you can judge a guy by how he is on the sporting field. >> i think so. >> i want to know if he was a monster or a team man. look at all this stuff for coffee. oh there's tons. french presses, espresso tampers, filters. it can get really complicated. not nearly as complicated as shipping it, though. i mean shipping is a hassle. not with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. that is easy. best news i've heard all day! i'm soooo amped! i mean not amped. excited. well, sort of amped. really kind of in between. have you ever thought about decaf? 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[ male announcer ] ask your doctor if cialis for daily use is right for you. for a 30-tablet free trial offer, go to cialis.com. that was hill harper, one of the stars of the "yes, we can" video in 2008. you have been friends with barack obama over 20 years. you played basketball with the man. i think, as i said, you can judge a guy by how he is on the sporting fields. what was he like? >> i agree with you. he was somebody who was a ball hog and wants to make it all about them or they pass the ball and make the team better. he's definitely one of those people. he was very good. he's tall with long arms. and he's left-handed so that's deceptive. >> is he aggressive? >> he plays hard and he wants to win. >> did you ever feel the presidential fist? >> no. i never felt the presidential fist. >> how has he changed? as a friend, when you saw him at his 50th birthday party, he's got the weight of the world on his shoulders, literally. it's been a turbulent time to be president. how is he dealing with it physically, mentally, emotionally do you think? >> you know, i think he's dealing well. the one thing i wish more people would see given the weight of the magnitude of what he's dealing with is his sense of humor. extremely funny guy. he can deal with a lot but he's relaxed in a way we want our leaders to be. i think what happened before the bin laden incident at the white house correspondents dinner, him being able to joke a night before he knew -- >> extraordinary. >> it shows you about his testimony prament and personality. this huge thing was going on, this mission was happening but he could make jokes the night before and we would never know. he's funny, clever. >> how do you feel about seeing a guy you obviously value highly as a friend. you like him enormously and have great respect for him. seeing his personal approval rating dropping all the time? seeing the pressure mounting. seeing the republicans trying to rip him apart and the election campaign around the corner. do you worry for him? >> one thing i realize is that polls represent present day fears not future results. we'll see results happen over the course of the next year and a half that are going to prove that the country is headed in the right direction. all of these things take time. do i think the country is better off with him in the white house? absolutely. >> when you see the republican candidates to date, what do you make of them? >> they have a strong field. >> who do you think is the most dangerous? >> dangerous? >> next time you see the president you want to say, you just want to watch that one? >> i don't know. i'll be honest. i can't answer that. i think they have an interesting field, a diverse field and a group of pretty strong candidates. that's what we all want. at the end of the day we want a great president. we want great people running. you always want two really good people running. whoever wins you want someone good in there. i think there were candidates among the gop field that are very strong. >> the thing i have been surprised about are the number of african-americans who feel let down by barack obama. ta vis smiley, cornell west, congresswoman maxine waters and others who say, you know, we invested all this faith in this guy and we feel a bit let down. understand that? what do you think? >> folks are able to have their own opinions. i would never say they are wrong for their opinion. however, he's the president of the united states. he's not the president of black america. you have to look and peel back the onion. a lot of things he's been fighting for will help african-americans in a specific way. when we talk about improving the public education system that was decimated. we went from being number one in public education 30 years ago to number 22 in math and number 24 in science worldwide. >> the problem,as i see it, is that no one has seen demonstrable improvement in education in the last three years. the jobless figures have gone up, not down and like all presidents he made a pledge, it will get better. a lot of people, particularly poor african-americans, as tavis and cornell said, quite right t ly, they feel let down. their dpu hasn't made their life better. >> let's be clear. poverty existed before january 20, 2008, before president obama took office. he's fighting for things to make the lives of americans better. there are 40 million people that have health care as we speak now that didn't have it before he came into office. >> which i thought was -- >> that helped african-americans because we are underinsured. there are tacit benefits certainly. he wants what's better for all of america. there is a quote by ronald reagan and there is a lot of reaganism talk now and revisionist history. one point being in his first term the unemployment rate in 1982 was 10.4%. that's higher than it is now but reagan was re-elected. he said one of my favorite quotes. he said, putting people first has always been america's secret weapon. president obama puts people first. not just african-americans. not just rich folks, poor folks. he puts america first and people first. >> when he was losing at basketball in a match, did he fire himself up? does he have that thing in him to say, right. like he might be doing now. >> i feel like you are painting an analogy that he's losing now. >> is that inaccurate? >> absolutely, piers. >> is he winning, do you think? >> we are winning. we are on that track. when you inherit -- >> when you look at the economy in america, you won't find many people saying america is winning. >> no. >> he's the boss and he said the buck stops with him. he's won battles, like the killing of bin laden, the automobile industry and things, great ticks on the box but there are minuses to address. >> absolutely. when you look at a systemic problem, when we have -- what made our country great historically, in my opinion are the public education system and the fact that we have been innovators. we led the world in many areas because we have incentivized innovation. we got away from that. he's trying to put it back. that takes time. the guy from the titanic saying, you can't turn it on a dime. it takes time to turn it around. >> take me to the basketball court when he was losing. is he a good come from behind guy? >> absolutely. >> if you take any assumption he's not in a winning position now, you would back him to win? >> absolutely. without question. you don't count him out. he's there to support, fight and win. without question. we are going to win with him as president, i believe. that's my personal belief. i know the guy. now basketball aside, at the end of the day it's up to us as americans. the wonderful thing about this democracy is it's participatory. the tea party proves that folks who get involved can make a difference immediately. it debunks the myth that we can't make a difference. that it's puppet masters and you can't make a change. you can make a difference. he believes it. i believe it. i hope more of us help him push the country in the right direction. >> thank you very much. "csi new york" premieres on cbs september 23. coming up, the supermodel who turned a pair of socks into a billion dollar empire. kathy ireland. (announcer) everything you need to stay balanced on long trips. residence inn. ♪ got so many scratches and scars ♪ ♪ maybe time can mend us together again ♪ ♪ it's not what we've done but how far we've come ♪ ♪ i know that we will recover [ male announcer ] here when you need us most. for men of a certain age, i.e. my age, the words "sports illustrated swimsuit issue" went with one name -- kathy ireland. she was one of the top supermodels of the '80s and '90s. this is a boyhood dream come true, kathy. welcome. >> thank you. it's great to be here. >> i have to be careful. christine o'donnell walked off my show and called me creepy. i don't want to be creepy. >> i promise i will not run away. >> you won't hold it against me that you were on my college bedroom wall? >> no, thank you. >> it's a compliment? >> it feels like hurricane years ago. >> really? >> i have such respect for you watching your career from extraordinary journalist to "the apprentice." that was incredible. >> thank you very much. >> now cnn. >> unfortunately we are not here to laud my miserable achievemen achievements. i would rather talk about you. you're an extraordinary story. you go from a model. most models have a successful career, it fizzles off and they do mundane things. you go off and launch a business. great title by the way, kathy ireland worldwide. i love that. you get a business that's now worth apparently $1.4 billion. how? how did that happen? >> a lot of sweat equity. >> sweat equity? i love that. >> it's been an extraordinary journey. i have learned so much along the way. i entered the modeling industry as a business person already. i always knew