Robert F. Smith is the wealthiest African American man in the United States. Forbes estimates his net worth at over $9 billion dollars. But how did he get there?
Here’s the evolution of Robert F. Smith.
Born
Robert F. Smith was born in Denver, Colorado in 1962 to Dr. Sylvia Myrna Smith and Dr. William Robert Smith.
Early Life
While in high school, Smith snagged an internship at Bell Labs, a telecommunications and technology company.
College
Robert F. Smith attended Cornell University and graduated in 1985 with a chemical engineering degree. Cornell named the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering after Smith after he donated $50 million to the University.
While at Cornell University, Smith joined the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.
Grad School
Smith attended Columbia University. He received his Master of Business Administration degree.
Goldman Sachs
Smith’s first job out of business school was at Goldman Sachs. According to Columbia Business School, Smith was the first M&A banker in Silicon Valley.
First Marriage
Smith met Suzanne McFayden at Cornell University where they both attended undergrad. The pair married in the 1988, separated in 2011, and divorced in 2014.
In 2000, Robert F. Smith founded Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm specializing in technology, in Austin, Texas. The company now manages over $101 billion in assets. Smith is worth $9.2 billion.
Second Marriage
In 2015, Smith married Hope Dworaczyk, a former Playboy model, television host, reality star, and skincare entrepreneur. John Legend serenaded the couple, who were then 52- and 30-years-old.
Children
Smith has seven children — three with his first wife and four with his second wife.
Tax Evasion Scandal
According to federal prosecutors, for 15 years, Smith “engaged in an illegal scheme to conceal income and evade taxes he owed by using an offshore trust structure with related foreign corporations and offshore bank accounts, and by willfully filing a series of false documents with the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and the Treasury Department.”
Tax Evasion Scandal Pt. 2
Prosecutors allege that the larger scheme involving Billionaire Robert Brockman was the biggest tax evasion scheme in U.S. history involving billions of dollars. Smith entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the government in October 2020. According to the New York Times, Smith was ordered to pay $139 million in fines. He remained at Vista Equity Partners.
Morehouse University
Smith vowed to pay for the student loans of the entire Morehouse College graduating Class of 2019. He also received an honorary degree from the school.
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
Smith served as Chairman of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization from 2013 to 2020. He also won the human rights organization’s Ripple of Hope Award in 2010 for his work on racial inequities in the criminal justice system.
Other Philanthropy
Smith is well known for his philanthropic work. In 2018, he was the largest individual donor at the City of Hope Gala, which supports prostate and breast cancer research for Black men and women. He also donated $50 million to his alma matter, Cornell University. He is the first African American person to sign the Giving Pledge to give away the majority of his wealth.
Smith founded private equity firm Vista Equity Partners in 2000. It focuses exclusively on investing in software companies. With more than $100 billion in assets, Vista is one of the best-performing private equity firms, posting annualized returns of 31% since inception.
He became the Co-Head of Enterprise Systems and Storage, assisting massive technology companies like Hewlett Packard, IBM, eBay and Apple with mergers and acquisitions. He was the first person at Goldman Sachs in San Francisco, CA, to focus on that specific area of financing.
One such figure was Mansa Musa, the African emperor of 14th century, who is believed to be the richest man ever to live on earth. Mansa Musa, who was born in 1280 AD, ruled the large Mali kingdom in West Africa for a while.
From being a film producer to a rapper, he is even a screenwriter too. Smith has earned substantial income from starring roles in blockbuster films like “Independence Day,” “Men in Black,” and “Aladdin,” which have collectively grossed billions of dollars worldwide.
It denotes someone with an unusually high net worth who enjoys the freedoms and pleasures associated with that net worth. Madam C.J.Walker (1867-1919), who started life as a Louisiana sharecropper born to formerly enslaved parents in 1867, is usually cited as the first Black millionaire.
According to the 2021 Forbes ranking of the world's billionaires, Nigerian business magnate Aliko Dangote had a net worth of $11.5 billion and was the world's richest black man.
Robert James Smith (born 21 April 1959) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and the co-founder, lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the Cure, a British post punk rock band formed in 1978.
He came to understand that his mother donated because she knew it would have a positive impact on others. She gave to uplift her son. Smith's father was also a formative influence and inspired his desire to protect the natural world. His father and extended family took the young Robert F.
Robert F. Smith is the billionaire founder and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, one of the largest private equity firms. He specializes in enterprise software, which is top of mind after reports from Amazon and Microsoft. Today he holds the distinction of being the wealthiest African American.
After Elon Musk and Gautam Adani, NVIDIA founder Jensen Huang, Indonesian mogul Prajogo Pangestu, French businessman Bernard Arnault, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg come next as prospective trillionaires.
After Will Smith met Jeff Townes at age 16, the duo launched a highly successful rap career as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. Smith starred on the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for six seasons, before establishing himself as a Hollywood A-lister with Bad Boys (1995) and Independence Day (1996).
Adam Smith's writings influence economics today as he believed wealth is created via labor, and self-interest spurs people to use their resources to earn money. Smith's theories that economies thrive with competition, capitalism, and a free market are alive and well in the 21st century.
Since marrying in 1997, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have been one of Hollywood's hottest power couples, boasting an estimated combined fortune of $400 million (£313m). The superstars have three adult children between them – Trey, Jaden, and Willow – who are also rich and famous in their own right.
At age 29, Smith launched Federal Express with his own money. He first tested the initial 25-city network, flying empty boxes across the country, and then went live on April 17, 1973. To keep the network of cities growing, he raised $90 million in venture capital from investors like Allstate and Newport Securities.
Introduction: My name is Errol Quitzon, I am a fair, cute, fancy, clean, attractive, sparkling, kind person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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