May 19, 2019

Billionaire pays off student debt of Morehouse College's entire graduating class

Marisa Fernandez

Commencement speaker and billionaire Robert F. Smith announced Sunday he will donate an estimated $40 million to pay off the student debt for the 400 students graduating at the historically black, all-male Morehouse College, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Why it matters: Student debt in the United States has reached $1.5 trillion. Studies show student debt causes lower incomes and is the No. 1 stressor of millennials.

Smith, a philanthropist, tech investor and founder of Vista Equity Partners, already donated $1.5 million to the college.

“This degree you’ve earned is a social contract to devote your talents and energies to honoring those legends on whose shoulders we stand," Smith said to the class of 2019.
“Between doubt and destiny is action. Between our community and the American Dream is leadership."

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Billionaire pays off student debt of Morehouse College's entire graduating class

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