[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. Discussion about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has grown over the last few years as more, Image: NRC Region II Staff Members Celebrate HBCU Week by Nuclear Regulatory Commission is licensed, Every February, the U.S. celebrates Black History Month a time when we reflect on. Political party: Republican: . Fund II Foundation 990. ProPublica. Robert F. Smith is a philanthropist and entrepreneur committed to uplifting the human spirit, particularly in underrepresented communities. Just a month later, he joined Ivankas White House American Workforce Policy Advisory Board which is tasked with rejuvenating the job market. In 2016, Smith donated $20 million to the National Museum of African American Historyand Culture in Washington, DC. [38] According to The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, Brockman's lawyer helped Smith set up the offshore entity. In May and June, Smith made daily calls to Secretary Mnuchin regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. And in 2018, Smith dropped $59 million on a three-story New York City penthouse in the Getty, a new luxury building in Chelsea. Smith is the richest black person in the United States, with a net worth of $5 billion, according to Forbes. After the applause and chants of MVP died down, he also said in part, I know my class will make sure they pay this forward and I want my class to look at these alumnus, these beautiful Morehouse brothers, and lets make sure every class has the same opportunity going forward., Robert F. Smith endowed a scholarship for 1.5M in January. * 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. Morehouse College Spring Class of 2019 Commencement Speaker Robert F. Smith will be establishing a grant to pay off the Class of 2019's Student Loans so they'll be graduating debt free! Fund modernization & capacity-building and provide in-kind subject matter experts $30M: help 4-5 CDFIs/MDIs* over 5 years modernize their core systems, hire and train staff, expand marketing and standup SWAT team of experts to conduct needs diagnostic, implement tech solution & provide technical assistance. Billionaire Robert Smith Fighting U.S. Criminal Tax Inquiry. Bloomberg. Fund SFI program up to $10M: fund the Student Freedom Initiatives HELPS program to support ~1.5K+ students per year at HBCUs* with emergency expenses e.g., unexpected health costs, late rent payments, etc. He served as Chairman of the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee from 1983 to 1986 and as a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 4th . 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. 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. Partygoers weren't . Fund modernization & capacity-building and provide in-kind subject matter experts $30M: help 4-5 CDFIs/MDIs* over 5 years modernize their core systems, hire and train staff, expand marketing and standup SWAT team of experts to conduct needs diagnostic, implement tech solution & provide technical assistance. Smith,. Oregon Blue Book: Earliest Authorities in Oregon - Speakers of the House of Representatives of Oregon. Jonathan Marino contributed to an earlier version of this story. Robert F. Smith, CEO and founder of private equity firm Vista Equity Partners, will pay $140 million to settle to a four-year-long investigation into his personal taxes. Got in Tax Evasion Trouble. [73], In October 2019, Smith received the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, which is given to individuals who have donated private wealth to the public. Offer in-kind FTEs: provide 2-5 in-kind FTEs to the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance (CRBA) over 5 years to convene corporate partners, assess their MBE spend, develop pipeline to increase MBE spend to 5-10%+, 2. Smith's work individually and in conjunction with the Fund II Foundation has helped fund racial equity and educational reform initiatives, outdoor access and historic preservation efforts, as well as internships and career pipeline opportunities for . Standup MBE fund $15M: standup/scale MBE fund* to offer more flexible access to capital arrangements 400-500 MBEs over 5 years, * Lead organization: The Collective Blueprint; Contributing local organizations for community strategy include (but not limited to): Community Unlimited, Womens Business Center South, Epicenter, others, Estimated impact (of all initiatives): 2.3x increase in MBE value & 20K+ new jobs, boosting Black communitys net worth by ~$3B+, Modernize CDFI/MDI systems and tech as well as recruit and upskill talent to increase CDFI/MDI capacity and ability to inject more capital into Black communities, 3. Smith has been cooperating with the investigation and will admit failing to pay about $30 million in taxes, with penalties and interest accounting for the total payout. Offer more paid internships: signup onto InternX and offer 25+ additional paid internships per year to HBCU/Black students, 4. In neighborhoods where predominantly Black families live, there has been a systematic removal of goods and services which has weakened economic prosperity and destroyed the social fabric of these communities. Robert F Smith (born 1957) is listed at 46 Railroad Avenue Madison, Ct 06443 and has no political party affiliation. Read more: Read the memo private-equity titan Robert F. Smith, the richest black man in the US, sent to his staff about America's racial unrest. Robert F. Smith prioritizes making a difference in the communities where he lives and works. [5], On February 8, 2016, Smith struck and killed a pedestrian while driving in Medford, Oregon. Smith was accused of conspiring with billionaire software CEO Robert Brockman to conceal his income by routing proceeds from Vista Equity Partners through Caribbean shell corporations secretly owned by Smith. No charges or citations were filed against him regarding the wreck. * CDFIs/MDIs being considered (examples and not exhaustive): Security Federal Bank, Institute / North Carolina Community Development Initiative, Sequoyah Fund Inc,Self-Help Credit Union, BEFCOR, Aspire Community Capital,etc. Accessed August 25, 2021. Smith has achieved a series of historic milestones throughout his life. [1][4], In high school, he applied for an internship at Bell Labs but was told the program was intended for college students. 2012 Election Cycle. [4] Upon his return, he was elected chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, but only served one term before retiring for good. [54] That year, Smith was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Denver. CEO and founder of private equity firm Vista Equity Partners. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for RFK Human Rights). They divorced in 2014. Accelerate SCIs digital access initiatives up to $80M in donations or in-kind: invest in setting up internet connections / hotspots, offer laptops/Chromebooks and support adoption (through government subsidy technical assistance and digital literacy) to connect ~145K homes to high-speed internet in the Houston region*, 7. [19][20][21] As of 2019, Vista Equity Partners had closed more than $46 billion of funding. Smith attended Cornell University as an undergraduate, then attended Columbias School of Business to get his MBA. 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): ~35K households get connected to high-speed internet to unlock ~$700M in economic potential for Charlotte, Lead community organization: Prosper Birmingham, 1. 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. Many private equity executives are regular donors to campaigns on both sides of the aisle, and Smith is no exception. Smith, a private equity investor, is one of the wealthiest African Americans in the world, and the richest black person in the United States. to 10K+ youths, 7. Download theGrio today! 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. ", "Inspiring Female Founders In The Beauty Industry", "Suzanne McFayden Wiki: Facts about Billionaire Robert F. Smith's Ex-Wife", "How Robert F. Smith, the Wealthiest Black American, Is Making Change", "The World's Billionaires (2016 ranking): #688 Robert Smith", "Real Housewives of Malibu Part 2: Yolanda Hadid Foster sells to Robert & Hope Smith for nearly $20 million", "Billionaire Robert Smith Is Buyer Of Record-Breaking $59M New York Penthouse", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Smith_(investor)&oldid=1130578664, Pages using infobox person with multiple spouses, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 30 December 2022, at 22:11. He worked as a rancher until his election to the Oregon House of Representatives in 1960. The two previously knew each other as titans in the business specter. October 8, 2020. Jordan Hart. Updated May 20, 2019. PALM BEACH, FLORIDA: A party arranged in James bond theme by Hope Dworaczyk, wife of Robert Frederick Smith, for her husband's 60th birthday allegedly pissed the guests due to the bizarre security measures. [13][14], In 2000, Smith founded Vista Equity Partners, a private equity and venture capital firm of which he is the principal founder, chairman and chief executive. Accessed August 25, 2021. Spokespeople for both Smith and the US attorney declined to comment to Bloomberg on the settlement. The move cost Smith $34 million. Vista uses a personality test developed by IBM that measures social and technical skills, as well as applicants' interest in arts and humanities. Have you subscribed totheGrios podcastDear Culture? "I dug up the phone number for Bell Labs to ask about summer internships," Smith said. Estimated impact (of all initiatives): ~$330M in additional loans per year to support ~30K MBEs, 5. All Rights Reserved. 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. He is the richest of the seven Black billionaires in the United States, however. Silicon Valley may be best known for billion-dollar valuations and soaring real-estate prices, but Smith's strategy is practically contrarian: He's investing in software and technology companies that aren't in the least bit flashy. [2] Wes Cooley, the Republican who had succeeded Smith in the House, had been caught in several lies about his military service and Smith was persuaded to come out of retirement. [59] That same year, Smith donated $2.5 million to the Prostate Cancer Foundation to advance prostate cancer research among African-American men. American investor, inventor, engineer, philanthropist, entrepreneur. [7][8] In 1994, he received his Master of Business Administration from Columbia University with concentrations in finance and marketing. https://t.co/DdOhjvxaWJ. To empower technology companies in the enterprise software market, Smith launched Vista Equity Partners, a global investment firm, in 2000. Smith was worth an estimated $2.5 billion, as of 2016. Well done Robert F. Smith., Robert F. Smith: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. And I thought liberating 400 spirits 400 years after 1619 is probably a good, good thing to do.". [31][37] Brockman also required the first fund to be located in the Cayman Islands and set aside some of the interest earned to protect him against losses. EXCLUSIVE: Billionaire at center of Americas largest tax evasion probe made friends with the Trumps, praised Ivanka and rented near Mar-a-Lago after paying off Morehouse students debts. Daily Mail. Smith was born in Portland, Oregon, and grew up in Burns, Oregon. Lead community organization: The Collective Blueprint, Increase the volume and value of Black-owned businesses through corporate MBE spend and MBE startups & scaling, 1. He is a male registered to vote in Connecticut. Fund scholarships and hire coaches ~$35M: scale Birmingham Promise fund to financially support 200-250 students per year over 4 years to increase college retention and graduation rates, 5. Robert F. Smith. [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. 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. Smiths probe by the FBI became public knowledge in August. His father, Benjamin F. Smith, was a doctor. [6], Smith was the first Black American to sign the Giving Pledge, pledging to donate most of his wealth to philanthropic causes before his death. 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. 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.". Sources told Bloomberg on Wednesday that Smith reached a $140 million settlement with the Department of Justice. We have to do something for our community., NEW YORK, NY DECEMBER 06: Robert Smith attends RFK Human Rights? Search Terms: Robert Smith Reset All Filters Page 3 of 1,139 First Previous 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next They gave us feedback and we made changes, Mnuchin told the Washington Post in June as part of a profile on the businessman. That is where Robert is right now. [5], In 2000, Smith founded Vista Equity Partners, a private equity and venture capital firm focused on technology. [31][37] According to Smith's non-prosecution agreement, Brockman dictated "the unique terms and unorthodox structure to the arrangement" and he accepted the offer as a "unique business opportunity he eagerly wanted to pursue". [44][45], Smith has also served as the chairman of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights,[46] on the board of overseers of Columbia Business School, as a member of the Cornell Engineering College Council,[47] on the Cornell University Tech Board,[9] and as a Trustee of the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco. Smith is a billionaire who has amassed a fortune largely through his company, Vista Equity Partners. 4. After Smith made that announcement, you can see the shock and celebration take place in the audience, as the students registered fully what Smith was saying. 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