Robert F. Smith
Robert Frederick Smith is an American billionaire businessman, and philanthropist. A former chemical engineer and investment banker, he is the founder, chairman, and CEO of private equity firm Vista Equity Partners. In 2018, Smith was ranked by Forbes as the 163rd richest person in America.
- Robert F. Smith founded private equity firm Vista Equity Partners in 2000. It focuses exclusively on investing in software companies.
- With over $50 billion in assets, Vista is one of the best-performing private equity firms, posting annualized returns of 22% 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.
- During a commencement speech, Smith vowed to wipe out the student debt of the entire 2019 graduating class of Morehouse College.
