Smart Equity: Robert F. Smith

Robert F. Smith loves fly fishing. The rush of the water, and the focus required to just be at one with Nature is what drives America’s wealthiest black person.

He has inspired me to create my own lane of work, that is writing. He has mastered the pen with degrees from two Ivy League schools, Cornell and Columbia Universities. His parents, both Doctors of Education, motivated his decision to pursue formal education. After graduation from Columbia, he entered the field of engineering. While at places like Goodyear, he solved problems, and focused his attention on scientific concerns. But, his interest in finance steered him away from solving tactical problems, and towards more long-range, strategic goals. He left engineering, and went to work for Goldman Sachs, where he excelled and generated a bountiful income. But he was still not satisfied. His vision was bigger than he could achieve with the limitations of working for someone else, so he left Goldman Sachs, and struck out on his own.

Vista Equity Partners is the company Robert F Smith founded when he decided to be his own boss, for good. He took a huge risk with this venture, but it paid off in huge success. Now his net worth is five billion dollars, and he is one of the few black billionaires in the world. And now, thanks to the rational selfishness that drove him to take those huge risks, he’s also one of the few people in the world who can afford to be truly benevolent. None of his philanthropic endeavors is sacrificial.

He has donated to many causes, including Susan G. Komen and UNCF. In 2019, Smith volunteered to eliminate all student debt for the graduating class that year at Morehouse College.

While he can give away a piece of his fortune, he still maintains his business-building skills and holds them to be of chief importance over any philanthropic goals. He knows that the making of money supersedes his ideals toward helping others who might deserve it.

It takes a lot to succeed when people around you are projecting arbitrary limitations onto you because of the color of your skin. It can be all too easy to give in to the low expectations of others, and give up. Robert F. Smith never did though, and he never would. I’m drawn to his success, to be sure, but the real appeal of this man as a role model is the way he consistently charted his own course. Smith is the kind of person who finds a way to make everything more interesting. To build his fortune, he had to get through school, do his homework, and work at a variety of positions that were downright tedious. His coolness and intelligence, matched with his commitment to his own success, drive him to find ways to make his work serve his own ends, even if that meant working his way out of that job, and into another.

I’m also in awe of Mr. Smith’s intellect and curiosity. A true renaissance man, he’s passionate about technology, and history. His voice jumps an octave, and his eyes light up whenever the conversation turns to any of these subjects. The joy he finds in using his own mind is palpable, infectious. The glee that he gets in talking about such topics is enlightening and fulfilling.

Today, Robert F. Smith is a figurehead in the world of finance. He has truly captured the imaginations, as well as the attention of people all over the world. He solves problems and creates opportunities for himself and others; he beckons young people to follow his example, and pave their own paths leading to their own successful lives.