When black billionaire investor Robert F. Smith announced last month that he would pay off the student loan debt of each graduate of Morehouse College’s 2019 graduating class, the gesture was applauded by many.
Just weeks after this announcement, the well-known philanthropist and private equity fund CEO is showing his generosity again as he has launched an internship programme for ethnically underrepresented students.
The programme, called InternX, will guarantee 1,000 students from ethnically underrepresented groups a paid summer internship in the fields of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). Rising sophomores with a 2.8 GPA or higher are eligible, Atlanta Black Star reports, adding that AT&T, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte and CitiGroup are currently some of the companies that will take InternX candidates.
56-year-old Smith is the Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, a private equity company he founded in 2000. The company has carved a niche for itself, fixing up enterprise software outfits and today has a value of about $46 billion in assets. Forbes puts Smith’s net worth at an estimated $5 billion and he is currently ranked number three on its 2019 billionaires list.
The businessman and philanthropist with a bias for educational and entrepreneurship development has, at the moment, joined a growing number of high-net-worth black personalities who are using their wealth to improve society.
Here are some top black billionaires who have also become generous givers.
