Watch the billionaire make the pledge below.
Video credit: TicToc by Bloomberg
A billionaire technology investor and philanthropist, Robert F. Smith, announced that his family is providing grants to clear the student debt of the entire 2019 class at Morehouse College.
Smith was ranked as the 355th richest person in the world by Forbes, and he is the founder, chairman, and CEO of private equity firm Vista Equity Partners.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Smith said he and his family creating a grant to pay off the student debt of the entire 2019 graduating class.point 238 |
The billionaire announced the news when he was giving a commencement speech in front of 400 seniors student who was graduating from the all-male, historically black college in Atlanta, Georgia.point 164 | point 164 | 1
“On behalf of the eight generations of my family who have been in this country, we’re going to put a little fuel in your bus,” he said, before revealing the grant to cheers and a standing ovation from students and faculty alike.
“This is my class,” Smith said, “and I know my class will pay this forward.”
According to the Journal-Constitution: The gift has been estimated at $40 million.
Jamie Foxx and Charlamagne Tha God both shared this on social media on Sunday to praise Smith.
“To know this man is to love him,” Foxx said on Instagram. “The love for people is immeasurable!!! He is lifting us up every day!!! God bless you, Robert Smith,” Foxx also added the hashtags #blackexcellence, #billionaire, and #heartofgold.
Charlemagne wrote: “This is what a BLESSING looks like. Just a light estimated 40 million dollars in student loan debt paid off. The good brother @robertfredericksmith is worth 4.4 billion and don’t rap, act, or have a jump shot but I’m not Wikipedia go do your own Googles.”
“Where you live shouldn’t determine whether you get educated,” Smith, who received an honorary Morehouse College doctorate on Sunday, wrote on Instagram.
“Where you go to school shouldn’t determine whether you get textbooks. The opportunity you access should be determined by the fierceness of your intellect, the courage in your creativity and the grit that allows you to overcome expectations that weren’t set high enough,” he said.
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