Robert F. Smith founds Vista Equity Partners, becomes richest Black American

Robert F. Smith founded Vista Equity Partners in 2000, building it into a private equity firm managing over $100 billion in assets. Smith became the wealthiest Black American in history with a net worth exceeding $8 billion, and in 2019 pledged $34 million to pay off the entire student debt of Morehouse College's graduating class, the largest gift in the HBCU's history.