On May 19, Billionaire Robert F.
Smith pledged to pay off all the student loans for the Morehouse College class of 2019 during his commencement speech.
“On behalf of the eight generations of my family that have been in this country, we’re gonna put a little fuel in your bus. This is my class, 2019. And my family is making a grant to eliminate [your] student loans,” Smith told the crowd.
On the same day, Oprah Winfrey gave her own commencement speech at Colorado College.
She posted a photo on Instagram to celebrate with the caption, “I don’t know who this guy is but he sure is happy to graduate! I shook hands with all 571 members of @coloradocollege’s Class of 2019 and gave them a copy of The Path Made Clear.”
Instagram user @spiritualceo1111 then left a comment on Oprah’s post writing, “Should have paid off their student debt @oprah lol @morehouse1867.”
Oprah immediately responded to the troller and replied back writing, “already paid 13 m in scholarships” while having “put over 400 men thru @morehouse1867.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BxqpWlFFGdT/?utm_source=ig_embed
According to Fox News Oprah’s contribution “created a fund that has grown to $12 million and has awarded scholarships to more than 400 men. Winfrey is one of Morehouse College’s top donors in the institution’s history.”
The troller who commented on Oprah’s post and tried to mock her was not aware of the fact that the 65-year-old has done a lot of donations.
According to Oprah Magazine: ‘’In 2007, she founded an all-girls school in South Africa for grades eight through 12 called the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls (OWLAG).’’
According to Forbes: ‘’She has donated $425 million throughout her career, including over $100 million to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.’’
Oprah made a commencement speech for Morehouse college back in 1989 and pledged to contribute $1 million contributions to the school’s scholarship fund.
The Morehouse college website reads: “Oprah Winfrey’s history of giving in support of Morehouse students began in 1989 with a $1 million contribution made during commencement exercises that established the Oprah Winfrey Endowed Scholarship Fund.
Each subsequent gift has been added to the corpus of the Oprah Winfrey Endowed Scholarship Fund. Ms Winfrey’s total gift stands at $12 million. Her total contributions have set Ms Winfrey apart as the College’s top individual donor to date.
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