Robert F. Smith (investor)
Robert Smith | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Born | Robert Frederick Smith December 1, 1962 |
Education | Cornell University (BA) Columbia University (MBA) |
Spouse(s) |
Suzanne McFayden
(m. 1988; div. 2014) |
Children | 7[1] |
Robert Frederick Smith (born December 1, 1962) is an American businessman, philanthropist, chemical engineer, and investor. He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of investment firm Vista Equity Partners. Forbes has named Smith on several business lists, including its list of the 100 greatest living business minds, and the wealthiest people in America.[2][3][4][5] On Oct.15, 2020 Robert Smith admitted he criminally evaded taxes on more than $200 million of income from 2000 through 2015 by using secret foreign accounts in the Caribbean and Switzerland.[6] In 2019, Smith pledged to eliminate $34 million of student loan debt for the Morehouse College graduating class that year. For the pledge, he was named "Executive of the Year" at the 2019 PitchBook Private Equity Awards, which recognize individuals in the private equity industry who have made significant donations. He was also recognized as one of the 50 people "who defined 2019" on The Bloomberg 50 List.[7] Smith is included in Time magazine 's 100 Most Influential People of 2020.[8]
Early life
Smith was born to Dr. William Robert Smith and Dr. Sylvia Myrna Smith, who were both school teachers.[9] He grew up in a predominantly African American, middle-class neighborhood in Denver, Colorado.[9] When he was an infant, his mother carried him at the March on Washington, where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.[10] He attended Carson Elementary School and East High School[11] in Denver.[9][12]
In high school, he applied for an internship at Bell Labs but was told the program was intended for college students. Smith persisted, calling each Monday for five months. When a student from M.I.T. did not show up, he got the position, and that summer he developed a reliability test for semiconductors.[13][14] Smith earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Cornell University in 1985.[15] At Cornell, he became a brother of Alpha Phi Alpha.[16] In 1994, he received his Master of Business Administration from Columbia University with concentrations in finance and marketing.[9][17][1]
Career
Smith worked at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Air Products & Chemicals and later at Kraft General Foods as a chemical engineer,[9] where he registered two United States and two European patents.[18] From 1994 to 2000, he worked for Goldman Sachs in technology investment banking, first in New York City and then in Silicon Valley.[9] He advised on mergers and acquisition activity with companies such as Apple and Microsoft.[19] In 2018, Smith was included in Vanity Fair’s New Establishment List, which is an annual ranking of individuals who have made impactful business innovations.[3][20]
Vista Equity Partners
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.[1] As of 2019, Vista Equity Partners was the fourth largest enterprise software company after Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP, including all their holdings.[21][22][23] Vista has invested in companies such as STATS, Ping Identity, and Jio.[24][25][26] As of 2019, Vista Equity Partners had closed more than $46 billion of funding.[27]
In 2016, Smith was named as Private Equity International's Game Changer of the Year for his work with Vista.[28]
The 2019 PitchBook Private Equity Awards named Vista Equity Partners 'Dealmaker of the Year'.[29]
Philanthropy and public positions
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. Komen.[10][30][31] Also in 2014, Smith received an honorary doctorate from Huston-Tillotson University.[32]
The Fund II Foundation has also supported education organizations including NAF and UNCF.[29][33] Fund II's support of the National Park Foundation allowed the organization to buy Martin Luther King Jr.'s home for preservation in 2019.[34]
In 2015, Smith sponsored the college education of all returned Boko Haram girls.[35][36]
Smith has also served as the chairman of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights,[37] on the board of overseers of Columbia Business School, as a member of the Cornell Engineering College Council,[38] on the Cornell University Tech Board,[17][citation needed] and as a Trustee of the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco.[39] He has donated to The Sphinx Organization, which supports diversity in the arts.[40]
Smith became the board chairman of Carnegie Hall in 2016, the first African American to hold that position.[10][41]
Also that year, Cornell University named the Robert Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering after him, following a donation.[42][43] He was later recognized as a distinguished alumnus by the college.[15]
Smith was named in The Chronicle of Philanthropy's "Philanthropy 50" in 2017.[44] In May 2017, The Giving Pledge announced that Smith had joined as its first African-American signatory.[45] That year, Smith was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Denver.[46][47]
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. This grant helped digitize Armstrong's collection to make it available to the public.[48][49]
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.[50] That same year, Smith donated $2.5 million to the Prostate Cancer Foundation to advance prostate cancer research among African-American men.[51] Also in 2018, Smith donated $1 million to the Cultural Performance Center at the Denny Farrell Riverbank State Park in Harlem, which was later renamed the Robert Frederick Smith Center for Performing Arts.[52]
Smith has received the Candle in Business and Philanthropy Award from Morehouse College,[53] the International Medical Corps Humanitarian of the Year Award,[54] Ebony’s John H. Johnson Award,[55] and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Chairman's Award, among others.[56][57] He was awarded an honorary doctorate of International Affairs from American University's School of International Service[58][59] and an honorary doctorate from Morehouse College.[60]
In May 2019, while at Morehouse College to receive an honorary doctorate and deliver the commencement address, he announced that he and his family would pay off the entire student loan debt of the 2019 Morehouse College graduating class of 396 students.[60][61][62][63] He had previously donated $1.5 million to the school in January 2019, to be used for scholarships and a park.[64]
In October 2019, Smith received the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, which is given to individuals who have donated private wealth to the public.[65] Smith was also inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame as a Class of 2019 Legend.[66] In April 2020, Governor Greg Abbott named Smith to the Strike Force to Open Texas – a group "tasked with finding safe and effective ways to slowly reopen the state" amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[67]
In August 2020, Bloomberg reported that Smith was facing a tax inquiry regarding a potential failure to pay U.S. taxes on $200 million in assets, intended for US charities, that were transferred through offshore entities.[68] In October 2020, Smith reached a non-prosecution agreement with the United States Department of Justice, agreeing to pay a fine of $139 million for failure to pay about $200 million in taxes. This agreement came alongside Smith agreeing to assist the DOJ in creating a separate ongoing case, described as the largest ever tax case filed against an individual.[69][70][71][72]
Personal life
In 1988, Smith married his first wife, fellow Cornell alum Suzanne McFayden Smith. Smith married Hope Dworaczyk, the founder and CEO of skincare company MUTHA, a former Playboy playmate, healthy living advocate, and fashion editor, on July 25, 2015.[73][74][75]
Smith has three children with his first wife.[76] He also has two sons with his wife Hope.[10][citation needed]
Smith owns homes in Austin, Texas,[77] Malibu, California, and New York City.[1][78][79]
References
- ^ a b c d Rogers, Katie Warren, Taylor Nicole. "Meet Robert F. Smith, the billionaire who's paying off student loans, owns a home in Malibu, and married a former Playboy model in a lavish Italian ceremony". Business Insider. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "Robert Smith". Forbes. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ a b "100 Greatest Living Business Minds". Forbes. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
- ^ Vardi, Nathan. "Richer Than Oprah: How the Nation's Wealthiest African-American Conquered Tech and Wall Street". Forbes.
- ^ Vardi, Nathan. "How The Richest Black American And His Billionaire Partner Became Top Philanthropists". Forbes. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ^ |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-irs-reels-in-a-whale-of-an-offshore-tax-cheatand-goes-for-another-11603445399
- ^ "The Bloomberg 50 list - 2019". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Robert F. Smith: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020". Time. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f D. Castle, Michael (July 14, 2016). Black In America This Century Hurts. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-1-365-22265-8.
- ^ a b c d Cooper, Michael; Gelles, David (June 2, 2016). "At Carnegie Hall, a New Leader With a Son Named Hendrix". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ^ "Heritage Hall Inductees". East Angel Friends & Alumni Foundation. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
- ^ "Billionaire Denver native donated $20 million to new African-American museum (Video)". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Reeves, Benjamin (April 8, 2015). "Private Equity's Philosopher | Alumni". Columbia.edu. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ^ David Gelles (April 10, 2014). "A Private Equity Titan With a Narrow Focus and Broad Aims". The New York Times. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ^ a b Mehta, Alek (March 1, 2020). "Cornell Engineering To Recognize Robert F. Smith '85 With 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award". The Cornell Daily Sun. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ^ Najja Parker, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "5 things to know about Robert F. Smith, Morehouse donor to pay off Class of 2019's student loans". ajc. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ^ a b "Smith '85 to receive engineering college alumni honor". Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ Marotti, Ally. "Who is Robert F. Smith? Before he was wiping out Morehouse College student debt, he was patenting coffee brewing at Kraft". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ^ Gelles, David (May 19, 2019). "Who Is Robert F. Smith, the Man Paying Off Morehouse Graduates' Loans?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ^ "About". Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ^ "Vista Equity: The Biggest Software Group You've Never Heard Of". PCMAG. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ "Robert F. Smith - Vista Equity Partners". Vista Equity Partners. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
- ^ "Vista Equity Partners to pay $1.9 billion in private-equity deal for Apptio". GeekWire. November 12, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ "Vista Equity Partners to invest $1.5B in India's Reliance Jio Platforms". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
- ^ "Stats LLC sold to private-equity firm". Crain's Chicago Business. May 15, 2014. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
- ^ "Vista Equity Partners Is Acquiring Ping Identity". Fortune. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
- ^ CNN, Harmeet Kaur. "What to know about Robert F. Smith, the man paying off Morehouse grads' student loans". CNN. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
{{cite web}}
:|last=
has generic name (help) - ^ Mitchenall, Toby (March 1, 2017). "Vista's Smith named PEI's 2016 'Game Changer'". Private Equity International. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
- ^ a b "Cover Story: Robert F. Smith, Chairman & CEO of Vista Equity Partners". March 17, 2020. Archived from the original on April 20, 2020.
- ^ "Robert F. Smith". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ "Now the Richest Black American, He's Also One of America's Biggest Philanthropists". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ "Austin billionaire who paid off students' debt has history of giving back". KXAN Austin. May 20, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
- ^ Owens, Donna M. "HBCUs Are Our Future". Essence. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
- ^ "Martin Luther King Jr.'s homes to be preserved by National Park Service". CBS News. February 21, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Kazeem, Yomi. "A "quiet" African American billionaire is offering Nigeria's rescued Chibok girls a new lease of life". Quartz Africa. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
- ^ Mark, Monica (November 17, 2015). "US tycoon helps Chibok pupils back into the classroom". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
- ^ "Robert Smith | Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights". RFK Human Rights. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ^ "ECC Active Members 2015" (PDF). Engineering.cornell.edu. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ^ "Board & Trustees". Kidsclub.org. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
- ^ "Robert Frederick Smith Prize". Sphinx Organization. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
- ^ Smith, Jennifer (June 2, 2016). "Carnegie Hall Names New Board Chairman: Private-Equity Financier Robert F. Smith". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
- ^ "Cornell names Robert Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in recognition of the leadership of philanthropist". Cornell Chronicle.
- ^ Casler, Andrew. "Cornell names engineering school after alumnus". The Ithaca Journal. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
- ^ "The 2017 Philanthropy 50". The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
- ^ "7 More U.S. Philanthropists Sign Giving Pledge". May 30, 2017.
- ^ "Billionaire Denverite Robert F. Smith pledges to pay off student loan debt for Morehouse College class of 2019". The Denver Post. May 19, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
- ^ "NEXUS Summer Program Students Dream Big in Teen Entrepreneurship Challenge". University of Denver. August 9, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
- ^ "Louis Armstrong's Life in Letters, Music and Art". Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ Simas, Kayla (October 8, 2018). "Louis Armstrong's unseen artifacts almost ready for public view". amNewYork. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
- ^ "Warner/Chappell Music CEO Jon Platt Lauded at City of Hope Gala: 'He's the Obama of the Music Industry'". Billboard. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ "Billionaire, Power 100 Honoree, Robert F. Smith Donates to Prostate Cancer • EBONY". EBONY. January 16, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ "Riverbank's Cultural Center Renamed After $1 Million Gift". Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ "Morehouse gets two $1M gifts at anniversary gala". bizjournals.com. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ "AAC 2018". International Medical Corps. November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ Ebony.com. "EBONY Power 100 2017 Honoree - Robert F. Smith". EBONY Power 100 2017. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ "President Obama to Deliver Final Keynote at 46th ALC Phoenix Awards Dinner - Congressional Black Caucus Foundation". August 24, 2016.
- ^ "Harlem Columbia Grad Billionaire Man Robert F. Smith (Video)". Harlem World Magazine. May 2, 2018. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ American University (May 10, 2015), SIS Commencement Speaker Robert F. Smith, retrieved November 18, 2018
- ^ Alex, Kelly. "AU Announces 2015 Commencement Speakers | American University Washington DC". American University. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Emerson, Bo (May 19, 2019). "JUST IN: Morehouse commencement speaker to pay off Class of 2019's student loans". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
- ^ "Billionaire Robert F. Smith pledges to pay off Morehouse College Class of 2019′s student loans". The Washington Post. May 19, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ Whack, Errin Haines (May 19, 2019). "Graduation speaker pledges to pay class of 2019 student debt". Associated Press. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
- ^ Burch, Audra D. S.; Gelles, David (May 19, 2019). "Morehouse Graduates' Student Loans to Be Paid Off by Billionaire". The New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ Stirgus, Eric (January 18, 2019). "Morehouse to use $1.5 million gift on scholarships and a new park". The Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
- ^ "Announcing the 2019 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy Recipients". Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Kendra Scott's and Robert Smith Invited to be Inducted in 2019 - Texas Business Hall of Fame". TBHF. May 16, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "These are the experts, leaders working with Gov. Abbott's strike force to reopen Texas". khou.com. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
- ^ Voreacos, David; Weinberg, Neil (August 21, 2020). "Billionaire Robert Smith Fighting U.S. Criminal Tax Inquiry". Bloomberg. Jonathan Browning. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Voreacos, David; Weinberg, Neil (October 15, 2020). "Houston Tech Mogul Indicted for 'Largest-Ever Tax Charge'". bloomberg.com. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
- ^ Primack, Dan. "Billionaire philanthropist Robert Smith's tax fraud roils Vista Equity". Axios. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
- ^ Rogers, Taylor Nicole. "Read the full letter private equity titan Robert F. Smith sent to investors about his $139 million tax evasion settlement". Business Insider. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
- ^ Saunders, Laura (October 23, 2020). "The IRS Reels in a Whale of an Offshore Tax Cheat—and Goes for Another".
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Marquina, Sierra; Brown, Brody (September 28, 2015). "Hope Dworaczyk Smith Pregnant With Second Child!". Us Weekly. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Alexander, Keith L. (September 24, 2016). "'Who is this Robert Smith?': A quiet billionaire makes some noise with $20 million gift to the African American museum". Washington Post. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
- ^ Salonga, Bianca. "Inspiring Female Founders In The Beauty Industry". Forbes. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
- ^ John, Caroline (May 22, 2019). "Suzanne McFayden Wiki: Facts about Billionaire Robert F. Smith's Ex-Wife". Earn The Necklace. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- ^ Forbes Staff (March 1, 2016). "The World's Billionaires (2016 ranking): #688 Robert Smith". Forbes. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
- ^ Yakketyyak, Yolanda (May 12, 2016). "Real Housewives of Malibu Part 2: Yolanda Hadid Foster sells to Robert & Hope Smith for nearly $20 million". Yolanda's Little Black Book. Archived from the original on June 25, 2018.
- ^ Toma, Glenda. "Billionaire Robert Smith Is Buyer Of Record-Breaking $59M New York Penthouse". Forbes. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
- 1962 births
- Living people
- African-American billionaires
- African-American engineers
- African-American businesspeople
- African-American inventors
- African-American investors
- American investors
- American billionaires
- American chemical engineers
- American chief executives
- American investment bankers
- American philanthropists
- American venture capitalists
- Businesspeople from Colorado
- Businesspeople from Texas
- Cornell University alumni
- Columbia Business School alumni
- Goldman Sachs people
- People from Austin, Texas
- 21st-century American inventors