How Billionaire Robert F. Smith Weaves Philanthropy Into The Fabric Of Business Success

As the holiday season begins, Americans begin to embrace the spirit of giving.

Last year, Americans donated over $550 billion to philanthropic causes, a 1.9 percent year-over-year increase, even amid economic challenges.

Experts also note a growing shift: donors are increasingly prioritizing initiatives that address systemic issues, like education, healthcare, and medical research, over short-term relief efforts. This aligns with the top charitable priorities of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (those worth $30M+), who account for an estimated 38 percent of individual giving worldwide. It is also reflected in the philanthropic efforts of Robert F. Smith, the wealthiest African-American in the U.S. from 2018 to 2024 and one of the world’s approximately 3,000 billionaires.

Smith’s philanthropy addresses healthcare disparities and promotes science and technology education, especially for African-Americans. His Fund II Foundation has awarded more than $265 million across 77 grants, while his internXL platform links 25,000 students to internships with 300 partner companies. Smith also committed $100 million to his Student Freedom Initiative to address student debt at HBCUs and minority-serving institutions.

In 2000, after a successful career in finance, including a six-year stint at Goldman Sachs, Smith founded Vista Equity Partners, an Austin, Texas-based private equity firm focused on software company investments. Under his leadership, Vista now manages over $100 billion in assets. In April, the company raised over $20 billion for its latest fund, eclipsing its previous 2019 record by $2 billion.

While Smith’s estimated net worth currently tops $10 billion, in 2017, he became the first African-American to sign the Giving Pledge, committing to donate the majority of his wealth to charitable causes. In 2019, he also pledged to pay off the student loan debt for the graduating class of Morehouse College, an HBCU. Smith continues to expand his impact through initiatives like the 2% Solution, which encourages U.S. businesses to invest 2 percent of their profits over the next 10 years into underserved communities.

“Everyone can bring their capabilities to solve problems beyond their immediate environment,” Smith says. “It’s a function of identification on one hand, and will on the other.”

Smith sat down with Inc. to discuss why he is committed to giving and how other leaders can make an impact, no matter their financial resources.

Among your diverse philanthropic initiatives, which are you most satisfied with?

That’s a hard one because all of them fit different aspects of my ‘full self.’ It’s similar to being a father of seven children – I can’t say there’s one I’m more satisfied with than the other.

A lot of the philanthropic efforts I focus on are changing the condition of people’s lives. Part of that, in some respects, is creating more opportunity for people who didn’t necessarily have access to the opportunity or even realize it existed. In some cases, it’s providing STEM internships and funding healthcare research to eliminate disparities of treatment. Healthcare, in particular, has one of the starker disparities that has major, multigenerational implications.

I also love the job that I have – being an investor and leading a team of investors in a world that is constantly changing. We deliver returns to pensioners, teachers, firefighters, police officers, and public servants who are looking for reliable investors to invest and return their capital so it can be utilized in later stages of their retirement. That is immensely fulfilling.

How does your background influence your perspective on giving?

Everyone has some capacity to give to improve some condition of some community they care about. That’s how I think about it.

I’m informed by how I was raised. I’m a fourth-generation from Colorado and growing up, we got a lot of snow during the winter. It took three days for our streets to be plowed, which meant the bus couldn’t pick us up for three days. As kids, we were excited because we didn’t have to go to school, but our parents weren’t. Most of the workers in the neighborhood I grew up in were middle-class, wage-working types. And yet the streets weren’t plowed, no buses came through, and cars couldn’t get out. This meant people didn’t get to work and they didn’t get paid. Not getting paid affected the condition of their family.

There was also a disparity of services between neighborhoods. My father, who was an elementary school principal, looked at this and formed a civic association. Teachers didn’t get paid much at the time, but he had relationships, some with the government. He said, “Listen, we need to have our streets plowed.” Thanks to him, our street’s main thoroughfare, at least, was plowed on time with the rest of the city.

Giving isn’t just a function of money. You often have to think about other resources. Sometimes it’s organizational capacity. Sometimes it’s looking after somebody’s kid while they’re at work. I’m informed by that in terms of how I think about my station and what I’m capable of doing.

You’ve pledged to the Giving Pledge, committing to donate at least half of your wealth. What prompted this decision?

Everyone has their own interests as to how they want to utilize the capital they’ve inherited or created. But ultimately, that hopefully comes back to improving the condition of people’s lives.

I spent a lot of time with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, who shared with me various thoughts on how organizations like the Giving Pledge can be helpful. They help people frame themselves and join with others who have similar interests and desires to bring organizational and fiscal resources to effect change.

While I’m the first African-American who signed the Giving pledge, there’s a number of Africans who are members of the Giving Pledge as well. Now we’re working on initiatives together. This is what comes from having organizations and institutions where people are focused. It gives you a chance to gather and to make things happen.

What inspired you to give so much of your wealth? Does this tie into a legacy you hope to leave?

I think Buffett said it best—I want to leave my kids enough money to do something, but not so much that they do nothing.

Being a productive human is an important part of why we are here on this planet—not just to work, but to create and to leave the condition of the planet better than when we got here. I believe this really adds to the soul. And if you’re just sitting around spending money that someone else earned, I’m not sure that adds much.

I have these three rules. I call them “Dad’s rules,” or “our family rules” for some of our foster kids. The first rule is you are enough, which means you are enough to improve the condition of not only yourself, but communities you care about. The second rule is, there’s great joy in solving problems, great joy in figuring out solutions for things you think you can change. Then the third thing is, love is all that matters.

Part of my legacy is trying to ensure these three rules. It’s what I hope to leave with my kids and the people I had a chance to interact with on this planet. Put structural underpinnings behind them, teachings behind them, and leading by example. To me, that is what’s important.

What about giving back to future leaders? How can business owners best find and help mentees?

Leaders have to build pipelines to attract diverse talent and infuse that into their organization. There are many studies that show diversity improves returns, decreases risks, improves perspective, and enhances business performance. Read that data, understand it, and build institutional infrastructure to create more diverse organizations throughout your entire platform or scale of control.

Then from there, guess what? Mentees pop up and say, “Hey, listen, I’d like some help. I’d like you to help guide me through this next phase of my career.” And it’s a lot of fun and a great thing to do.