Commencement Speaker at a GA College [Will] Pay Off the Class of 2019's Student Loans (tr)

Entrepreneur Magazine ^ | May 20, 2019 | Ellen Cranley

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Full Headline: A Billionaire Commencement Speaker at a Georgia College Announced That He Will Pay Off the Class of 2019's Student Loan

A billionaire commencement speaker at Georgia's Morehouse college announced he would be paying off the graduating class's student loans.

Robert F. Smith, a technology investor and philanthropist who's CEO and chairman of Vista Equity Partners, told the 400-member Class of 2019 in his Sunday speech at the all-male historically black college that he would be creating a grant to wipe the graduates' student debt.

"My family is going to create a grant to eliminate your student loans," Smith, who is currently ranked as the 355th richest person in the world by Forbes, said to the graduating seniors. "You great Morehouse men are bound only by the limits of your own conviction and creativity."

Georgia's 11Alive News reported a Morehouse official said the gift was worth about $40 million.

Smith also pledged $1.5 million to the school and received an honorary degree from the college during Sunday's ceremony.

"This is my class," he said in his speech. "I know my class will pay this forward."

Smith, whose fortune has been estimated at $2.5 billion, was relatively unknown before making headlines as the second-largest private donor to the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington. His gift of $20 million was beaten only by Oprah Winfrey's of $21 million.

Student loan debt reached its highest level in history in 2019, totaling about $1.5 trillion among 44 million borrowers in the US.

The national default rate on student loans is about 11 percent, and Georgia's falls just above that average. Department of Education statistics said in 2018 that 16,538 student loan borrowers are in default in Georgia.

[Bartholomew Roberts]

How about this comment?

I don’t believe the guy will follow through in wiping the complete student loan debt of all these students, out of his own pocket!

He will give seed money to a grant that is supposed to do that.
Or he will say he was misquoted.
Maybe he will do nothing but the press won’t cover it.

But my prediction is that he will not write a $40 million check and wipe out all that debt.

[Magnum44]

Morehouse College is a private, all-male, liberal arts, historically black college in Atlanta, Georgia.

Basically, a useless degree for future community organizers for a dependent class, paid in full.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“Basically, a useless degree for future community organizers for a dependent class, paid in full.”

Yep. My research says the same.

But, you know, if it makes him feel good...ALMOST as good as Oprah, then I guess it’s his call.

You know we’ll NEVER be free of the Socialist Cancer thriving on our college campuses; private or public. :(

[grania]

I hope he gives money to students who worked their *sses off and parents who mortgaged their homes so students could avoid impossible debt. They're the ones who deserve consideration.

I would've been more impressed if he gave $50,000 to each grad. What he's doing is rewarding financial sloth.

[sparklite2]

Agree completely.

[the OlLine Rebel]

I don’t think it’s male only?

But anyway, look at all the kinte cloths they wear as their grad sashes.

They’re all doing the “PC pride in my color” garbage.

I will say that 1 man interviewed was an economic major. A bit more than just African basket studies.

[tet68]

Where are the “Historic White Colleges”?
Are there any white students at these colleges?
Did they get their loans paid off?

Jes Askin.

[HeadOn]

Not to mention setting at naught all the hard work some of them had to do to get scholarships so they wouldn’t have debt in the first place.

It’ll make sure they still vote Dimocrat, though. They will have no experience with paying back a horrendous debt foisted on them by a broken system/government.