- Robert F. Smith founded private equity firm Vista Equity Partners in 2000. It focuses exclusively on investing in software companies.
- With about $100 billion in assets, Vista is one of the best-performing private equity firms, posting annualized returns of 31% since inception.
- As a college student, Smith secured an internship at Bell Labs after calling the company every week for five months.
- An engineer by training, he worked at Kraft Foods and Goodyear Tire before getting his MBA at Columbia University.
- In 2020, Smith entered into an agreement with the DOJ and the IRS, agreeing to pay $139 million for his role in a tax evasion scheme.
- During a commencement speech, Smith vowed to wipe out the student debt of the entire 2019 graduating class of Morehouse College.
Wealth History
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Forbes Lists
Personal Stats
- Age
- 63
- Source of Wealth
- Private equity, Self Made
- Residence
- Austin, Texas
- Citizenship
- United States
- Marital Status
- Married
- Children
- 7
- Education
- Master of Business Administration, Columbia University; Bachelor of Arts/Science, Cornell University
Did you know
Smith is the first African-American to sign the Giving Pledge, a commitment to contribute the majority of his wealth to philanthropic causes.
Smith gave $20 million to the National Museum of African American History in 2016.
In Their Own Words
We are only bound by the limits of our own conviction. We can transcend the script of a pre-defined story, and pave the way for the future that we design. We just need to tap that power, that conviction, that determination within us.
Robert F. Smith
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