Share. He is also a major donor to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Chairman of Carnegie Hall, and the Chairman of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, among many others. [36], In 2014, Smith became the founding director and president of the Fund II Foundation, which has invested in organizations such as Cornell, the National Park Foundation, and Susan G. Accessed August 25, 2021. Accessed August 25, 2021. About Robert F. Smith. Robert F. Smith. Mayweather said: As someone who owns his own brand, I cant think of better partners than Deon (Deon Taylor), Roxanne (Roxanne Avent Taylor), Robert F. Smith the wealthiest African American in the world and Hidden Empire Films, a prolific Black-owned production company.[86], In 1988, Smith married his first wife, fellow Cornell alum Suzanne McFayden. Got in Tax Evasion Trouble. [1] Her father was the clerk of Marion County. [48] He has donated to the Sphinx Organization, which supports diversity in the arts. In 2016, Smith and his wife bought a $20 million Malibu mansion from "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Yolanda Hadid. Philanthropy. Robert F. Smith. Smith's strategy as well as his work ethic have won him praise on Wall Street. Vista uses a personality test developed by IBM that measures social and technical skills, as well as applicants' interest in arts and humanities. Meet Robert Smith, the Billionaire Investor Who Paid Off Student Loans Vista Equity Partners' Robert F. Smith spent $34 million paying off Morehouse 2019's student loans. The banker went on to praise Vista, as well, saying "there is no shortage of PE shops that have succumbed to style creep and/or chasing fleeting trends, but Vista has remained focused on enterprise software and technology. From an early age, his parents stressed the importance of giving back and supporting his community. It was a series of very substantive discussions that resulted in really beneficial policies to support minority & underserved communities.https://t.co/qt05ua8jMJ, Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) June 25, 2020. [2], Smith served in the state House until he retired in 1972 to return to his ranch. In 2017, Smith became the first African American to sign the Giving Pledge a commitment to donate a majority of his net worth during his lifetime to charitable causes. I see the little tears in the fabric of society every day. During his 2019 commencement address at Morehouse College, a historically Black institution, Smith surprised the graduating class by pledging to pay off the entire class student loan debt a $34 million gift that helped nearly 400 graduates. Lives in: Madison, Connecticut Phone: (860) 922-4202. [39][40], The reports state that Brockman's proposal was a "take-it-or-leave-it offer". [2], On February 19, 1966, Smith married Kaye Elizabeth Tomlinson in Salem. He graduated with honors from Columbia Business School and entered the investment banking in Mergers & Acquisitions for Goldman Sachs in New York City and later San Francisco. Smith would rise to cohead of enterprise systems and storage-investment banking at Goldman Sachs, advising on $50 billion of deals from 1994 to 2000. Raise community awareness & adoption of Emergency Broadband Benefit: increase door-to-door and community outreach in low-income neighborhoods to get households onto EBB to help connect ~35K unconnected households, Estimated impact (of all initiatives): 48K households get connected to high-speed internet to unlock ~$700M in economic potential for Jefferson County. No matter our skin color or our political beliefs, we must all agree that the right to vote is foundational to our democracy and who we are." -Robert F. Smith In March 2021 and again in January 2022 Smith collaborated with dozens of Black executives and the Freedom to Vote Alliance to condemn new voting restrictions that harken back to Jim Crow. Commit to increase racial diversity in supply chain and procurement: increase MBE spend in Greater Houston region* to 5-10%+, * One Houston Together serves as lead (please contact if you are interested in funding these initiatives), ** Houston Minority Supplier Development Council (HSMDC) serves as a partner organization (please contact if you are interested in learning more about this initiative), Estimated impact (of all initiatives): 2.5x increase in MBE value & ~55K new jobs, boosting Black communitys net worth by ~$12B, 4. All Rights Reserved. He is a male registered to vote in Connecticut. Have you subscribed totheGrios podcastDear Culture? [14], Robert Smith is a proponent of the 2% Solution, a plan to close the wealth gap between white and Black Americans by encouraging all businesses in the United States to invest 2% of their profits for ten years into Black communities. Robert D. Burns III (unopposed) 100.00%: . Smith attended Cornell for undergrad but never lost touch with Bell Labs. Smith, a private equity investor, is one of the wealthiest African Americans in the world, and the richest black person in the United States. They are also used to choose convention . [76] Smith was included on the Time 100, Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world, in 2020. In 2013,BEnamed the firm BE100s Financial Services Company of the Year and Smith as one of the Most Powerful Blacks on Wall Street. But Smith said he kept calling back "every day for two weeks straight," and after an intern from MIT didn't show up, he was accepted as an intern. * In partnership with National Bankers Association and Appalachian Community Capital; CDFIs/MDIs being considered include: Unity National Bank, Unity Bank of Texas, PeopleFund, Houston Business Development Inc, etc. [57][58], In 2018, Smith was the largest individual donor at the City of Hope Gala, which funds prostate cancer treatment and breast cancer research for black men and women. For his 60th birthday, billionaire Robert F. Smith's wife threw him a James Bond-themed party. February 24, 2021. As a high schooler, Smith convinced Bell Labs to give him an internship even though they were reserved for college students. One Twitter user wrote, This is a small example of Black wealth, position, & power used properly., Another user wrote, Imagine if every billionaire did this. Share Background Report Overview of Robert F Smith Jr Lives in: Findlay, Ohio Phone: View phone number Age: 70 Robert Smith Jr's Voter Registration Learn More About the Billionaire Whose Generosity Shocked a Graduating Class", "Billionaire Robert F. Smith Launches New Initiative to Ease Student Debt at Historically Black Colleges", "Black and Jewish Leaders Gather at Carnegie Hall to Take a Stand Against Antisemitism and Racism", "Mayor Eric Adams, Rev. Powered by. [6], Smith died on September 21, 2020, in Medford, Oregon at the age of 89. Robert F.Smith is a billionaire who gave the commencement speech at Morehouse College on Sunday, telling the graduating students his gift was to pay off all of their student loans. This cannot beWe have to do something. Smith has achieved a series of historic milestones throughout his life. [19][20][21] As of 2019, Vista Equity Partners had closed more than $46 billion of funding. [28][29]Smith said: "When we unify the souls of our two communities, we can usher in light to banish the darkness of racism, bigotry, and antisemitism. Now, Ive got the alumni over here, and this is a challenge to you, alumni: this is my class, 2019. The couple has two children together, and Smith has three other children from a previous marriage. Accessed August 25, 2021. It looks like billionaire Robert F. Smith has caught the attention of the feds who are looking at him for potential tax crimes according to a report from Bloomberg. The majority of African Americans live in just six communities in the U.S. Birmingham, AL; Houston, TX; New Orleans, LA; Atlanta, GA; Charlotte, NC and Memphis, TN. Robert is registered to vote in Hancock County, Ohio. As of April 2021, Smith was the wealthiest Black American, with a net worth of $6 billion. Education: Willamette University : Robert Freeman Smith (June 16, 1931 - September 21, 2020), commonly known as Bob Smith, was an American Republican politician who represented Oregon in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 1995 and from 1997 to 1999. Columbia Business School Smith's generous gift of $15 million to the Columbia Business School in 2017, helped the School secure its $500 million fundraising goal for its move to Manhattanville. Accessed August 25, 2021. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. Born in Prussia, Wagner migrated with his family to the United States in 1885. In 1689, the British Parliament passed an extensive bill of rights, including the right to keep and bear arms (the people had just had to fight a real civil war). "I dug up the phone number for Bell Labs to ask about summer internships," Smith said. You are responsible for building strong, safe places where our young brothers and sisters can grow with confidence, watch and learn from positive role models, and believe that, they too, are entitled to the American Dream. -Robert F. Smith @RFS_Vista #MorehouseGrad2019 pic.twitter.com/CeMs6CxQkq, Morehouse College (@Morehouse) May 19, 2019. Estimated impact (of all initiatives): ~$330M+ in additional loans per year to support ~30K+ MBEs, Lower financial burden for Black students, increase number of Black college graduates, increase Black workforce and executive representation and their access to high-paying jobs, 6. He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of private equity firm Vista Equity Partners . [31] In October 2020, Smith reached a non-prosecution agreement with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), agreeing to pay a fine of $139 million. Smith was born to Dr. William Robert Smith and Dr. Sylvia Myrna Smith, who were both school teachers. Jones, Charisse. Lead community organization: The Collective Blueprint, Increase the volume and value of Black-owned businesses through corporate MBE spend and MBE startups & scaling, 1. "When I finished business school and decided to join the tumultuous world of investment banking, my family and friends spoke up with concerns about my sanity," Smith said in his American University commencement speech. He avoided further penalties and prosecution by agreeing to assist the DOJ in its case against Brockman, which would later result in the largest tax evasion prosecution in U.S. history. [4] Upon his return, he was elected chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, but only served one term before retiring for good. Smith allegedly failed to pay taxes on about $200 million in assets that moved through offshore accounts tied to Robert Brockman, a Houston software businessman. Adeniji, Ade. Increase MBE certification and scale technical assistance ~$2M: partner with One Houston Together* and the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council (HSMDC)** to certify additional MBEs, develop Minority Business Finder database tool and provide resources andservices to help local MBEs scale and participate in Pathways to Excellence program, 3. In a memo sent to Vista employees following the outbreak of widespread protests on the killing of George Floyd, Smith recounted his uncle's murder by a white gas station attendant nearly 50 years ago and called for "love and understanding.". Smith, the richest Black man in the country who is worth an estimated $5.2 billion per Forbes, was heralded last year when he pledged to pay off the $34 million in loans for the graduating Morehouse class. He is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, focused on investing and partnering with leading enterprise software companies. And in 2018, Smith dropped $59 million on a three-story New York City penthouse in the Getty, a new luxury building in Chelsea. Amy Harris/Invision/AP. You have to focus on everything that you're doing, seconds at a time.". Jordan Hart. Vista manages a robust investment platform by applying market expertise across private equity, permanent capital, credit and public equity investment strategies. Contribution Totals. He made a real effort and didnt have a particular agenda He was legitimately interested in helping the program., Read More: Billionaire Robert Smith reaches $140 million tax settlement with DOJ. Smith pledged an additional $1.5 million to Morehouse College for scholarships and renovations. * Leading organizations for community strategy include (but not limited to): Community LIFT, Memphis CDFI Network, etc. [7], In 2014, Robert Smith founded the Fund II Foundation, a grant making philanthropic group. Smiths overtures materialized as he spoke with Mnuchin daily on coronavirus relief according to Mnuchin. Robert Frederick Smith (born December 1, 1962) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. In particular, his philanthropy honors the sacrifices and contributions of his parents, grandparents and African American ancestors who he says paved the way for his success. To a Spreadsheet or Other File Type. Robert F. Smith prioritizes making a difference in the communities where he lives and works. * In partnership with National Bankers Association and Appalachian Community Capital; CDFIs/MDIs being considered include: First Bancshares, Commonwealth National Bank, TruFund, Sabre Finance, Bronze Valley, etc. . He is a male registered to vote in Connecticut. That is where Robert is right now. Smith sought out to befriend those in the inner circle to President Donald Trump as the IRS honed in on him, the Daily Mail reported Thursday: daughter, Ivanka Trump, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin who oversees the IRS, and CNN commentator Van Jones who is close to Trumps son in law, Jared Kushner. Vista Equity partners, has officesin Austin, Chicago, Smith and his wife bought a $20 million Malibu mansion. Robert F. Smith Discusses his Goalsetter Gift on MSNBC Today. During his commencement speech at Morehouse College on Sunday, Smith received an honorary degree, then proceeded to tell the class of 2019 that he would be paying for their cumulative student debt. [55][56], In 2018, Fund II Foundation gave a $2.7 million grant to the Louis Armstrong House Museum, and Smith has served as a board member since. Smith said, The vision I was sold as a kid is unraveling. Smith, by the way, made . Accessed August 25, 2021. In 2016, Smith donated $20 million to the National Museum of African American Historyand Culture in Washington, DC. Well done Robert F. Smith., Robert F. Smith: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Be an advocate for SCI priorities: engage federal and state agencies to drive policy and funding improvements to better support SCIs near-term priorities, E.g., Engage the Small Business Administration and Minority Business Development Agency to increase technical assistance programs and annual spend to better support Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) with capital and scaling needs, E.g., Ask the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to include multi-dwelling unit connectivity in its new broadband connectivity maps and ask the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to allow non-FCC data in state broadband plans to unlock ~$285M in potential government broadband funding for 5 SCI regions. "I tell people there's nothing greater than liberating the human spirit," Smith told Business Insider about the gift. Robert F. Smith is a philanthropist and entrepreneur committed to uplifting the human spirit, particularly in underrepresented communities. Joseph Francis Smith (January 24, 1920 - May 14, 1999), was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district from 1981 to 1983. Mnuchin daily on coronavirus relief according to Mnuchin there 's nothing greater than liberating the human spirit, in... Wall Street Bond-themed party Gift on MSNBC Today Morehouse College for scholarships and renovations * leading organizations community... Smith told Business Insider about the Gift February 19, 1966, died... Family to the Sphinx Organization, which supports diversity in the state House until he retired in 1972 return. 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