Washington: A billionaire technology investor stunned the entire graduating class at an US ollege in Atlanta when he announced at their commencement that he would pay off their student loans — estimated at $40 million. Robert F Smith, this year’s commencement speaker at Morehouse College, made the announcement while addressing nearly 400 graduating seniors of the all-male historically black college, Time magazine reported.
Smith, who is black, is the Founder and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm that invests in software, data, and technology-driven companies. “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,” the investor and philanthropist told graduates in his morning address.
“This is my class, 2019. My family is making a grant to eliminate their student loans.” The announcement immediately drew stunned looks from faculty and students alike. Then the graduates broke into the biggest cheers of the morning. Morehouse said it is the single largest gift to the college. aSmith, who received an honorary doctorate from Morehouse during the ceremony, had already announced a $1.5 million gift to the school.
