Business & Entrepreneurship

Robert F. Smith

Born December 1, 1962 · Denver, Colorado

The wealthiest African American in history — Robert F. Smith built a private equity empire and stunned the world when he pledged to pay off the student loan debt of an entire graduating class at Morehouse College.

Known For

Wealthiest Black American

Company

Vista Equity Partners

Gift

Paid off entire Morehouse class debt

Robert Frederick Smith was born in Denver, Colorado to two parents with Ph.D.s. His mother was a school principal and his father ran a community center. Smith interned at Bell Labs at age 16, where a persistent cold call earned him the position, and went on to earn degrees from Cornell and Columbia Business School.

After working as a chemical engineer at Goodyear and Kraft General Foods, then as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, Smith founded Vista Equity Partners in 2000. The private equity firm, which invests exclusively in enterprise software companies, has generated some of the highest returns in the industry and manages over $100 billion in assets.

In 2019, during the commencement address at Morehouse College, Smith announced he would pay off the student loan debt of the entire graduating class — a gift totaling approximately $34 million. He later expanded the gift to include the students' parents' educational debt. He has donated hundreds of millions to causes including the National Museum of African American History and Culture.