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Robert F. Smith is the billionaire everyone is talking about,
but nobody
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knew about just a few months ago. He is the 52-year-old founder
of the private equity firm, Vista Equity Partners. Vista deals in
the not-so-sexy category of enterprise software, which might be why
he’s flown under the radar until now. Smith was recently on the
cover of Forbes richest Americans issue, which is how he came to
our attention. His net worth of $2.5
billion makes him number 268 on the list of the
wealthiest Americans. It also makes him the second wealthiest
African American behind Oprah Winfrey. But who is Robert F. Smith
and how did he get so rich?
Robert F. Smith was born on December 1, 1962 in Denver,
Colorado. He is a fourth generation Coloradan. His schoolteacher
parents both have PhDs. When he was an infant, Smith’s mother
carried him at the March on Washington, where Reverend Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. He grew up
in a mostly African American middle class neighborhood in
Denver.
Robert F. Smith is the richest Black man in
America
Smith showed tenacity early in life. In high school, he applied
for an internship at Bell Labs[1]. The problem was, the
program was for junior and senior college students only. Smith was
undaunted. He called the H.R. Director at Bell Labs every
single day for two weeks. Then he cut back and just called every
Monday for another five months. When an intern from
M.I.T. didn’t show up in June to start the internship, the H.R.
Director finally called him back and Smith got the job. While
interning at Bell Labs that summer, he developed a reliability test
for semiconductors.
Smith got his B.S. Chemical Engineering from Cornell University
and continued to work as an intern at Bell Labs during his summer
and winter breaks from his undergraduate studies. After Cornell,
Smith went on to Columbia University to get his MBA. Once that was
accomplished, he headed right to Wall Street and a job at Goldman
Sachs. From 1994 to 2000, Smith, as co-head of enterprise systems
and storage investment banking, advised on $50 billion in tech
merger and acquisition deals.
In 2000, Smith left Goldman Sachs and launched Vista Equity
Partners. In the 15 years since then, Vista has grown to nearly $16
billion in assets and generated insane returns for its investors.
Vista has delivered a whopping 31 percent average annual rate of
return to its investors since 2000.
The fund’s success is all in Smith’s strategy. Unlike other
Silicon Valley investors who look to fund the next hot startup,
Smith takes a decidedly utilitarian approach to investing. He
intentionally invests in Silicon Valley’s lesser known companies.
He seeks out software and technology companies that aren’t at all
flashy. Smith has kept Vista’s focus on the unglamorous sector of
enterprise software and technology. Vista is currently valued at
$4.3 billion. Smith controls a majority stake in his firm.
Smith may take a non-flashy approach to investing, but his
personal life is about as flashy as flashy gets. This summer, Smith
married former Playboy Playmate of the year, Hope Dworaczyk.
The couple got married in a lavish, over-the-top ceremony that
included private performances from John Legend, Seal, and Brian
McKnight. Legend serenaded the bride as she walked down the aisle
and the couple danced their first dance as man and wife under a
custom light display that read “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.” Smith and his
30-year-old bride married on Italy’s Amalfi coast. The couple
rented out the Hotel Villa Cimbrone for the star-studded event.
Smith is also Chairman of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for
Justice and Human Rights, Member of the Cornell Engineering College
Council, and a Trustee of the Boys and Girls Clubs of San
Francisco. He is a Board Member of Carnegie Hall and
an avid fly fisherman.
We may have been unaware of Robert F. Smith before now, but one
thing is for sure, we’re never going to overlook him again!
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