Robert Smith the billionaire who pledged to pay off a class of college graduates’ student loans is now adding to his promise.
What We Know:
- In May, Billionaire Robert Smith pledged to pay off the student loan debt of all of Morehouse College’s class of 2019. Robert Smith is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Vista Equity Partners and a former Morehouse graduate. According to a press release in September, he has extended his donations through a new program called Morehouse College Student Success Program.
- The program, established in early August, will cover the cost of federal subsidized loans, federal unsubsidized loans, Georgia Student Access Loans, Perkins Loans, Parent Plus Loans and certain private student loans for over 400 students.
- Smith has donated $34 million to the program in an effort to eliminate the debt acquired by the parents of students as well. The fund will cover education loan balances as of August 28.
- The school’s president David A. Thomas hopes that the graduates will use their newfound financial freedom to pursue their career goals, to lead and serve the community, and to pay it forward to future classes.
- Rober F. Smith said in a statement, “With the Student Success Program in place, there is a model for all colleges and universities, starting with Morehouse and HBCUs, to receive gifts from alumni and other supporters that can offset the burden of student loans and give students the freedom to pursue their dreams, the capital to invest in the economic growth of their families and the time that they can give back meaningfully to strengthening their communities.”
With the price of student loan debt increasing every year it is refreshing to see someone with financial freedom making an effort to eliminate the debt of future college graduates.
