Mr. Smith paid off all of 2019 Morehouse Student Debt

[irisblue]

-Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) Tweeted:
This is so incredibly cool and good. https://t.co/ou3VpvTH4r

Link to tweet

https://www.ajc.com/news/just-morehouse-commencement-speaker-pay-off-class-2019-student-loans/XvMHlS1SVyJiG3mRp1WOWL/

snip--..."Billionaire Robert F. Smith....This is my class,” he said, “and I know my class will pay this forward.”....."The gift has been estimated at $40 million."


Mr. Smith truly put his money where his mouth is.

[irisblue]

1. Someone needs to show Bezos this

[malaise]

10. And the rest of the greedy scumbags

This is wonderful. A close friend was a Dean there some years back

[OnlinePoker]

15. I really read this as "...show Bozos this". n/t

[irisblue]

20. Welll, not so far off. 🤔

[SallyHemmings]

31. Robots don't have student loans

[SMC22307]

2. K&R

[redwitch]

3. Wow!

How wonderful of him!

[FM123]

4. Mr. Smith, show them all (Bezos, Zuckerberg, Musk etc) - this is how it's done!

[Merlot]

5. So college students would be at the mercy of billionaires?

What Mr. Smith did is nice, but making college tuition dependent on billionaires is a bad idea. Right now the koch brothers are buying up college departments so to spread their ideology.

Better idea would be to fix the problem of tuition.

And honestly, gotta hurt just a bit for the class right under this one.

[Laurian]

6. While all that may be true, it doesn't diminish Mr. Smith's generosity.

[irisblue]

7. Mr. Smiths worth is 5 Billion, via Forbes. His wiki page

Has a long section on his philanthropy.

He is living out principles that so few richie riches ever do.

[aggiesal]

8. I'm really sick and tired of people always pointing out the negative ...

This is a beautiful gift.
Acknowledge that!

Please don't reply with your reasoning.

[SixString]

11. +1

[Blecht]

23. Read the fucking post

What Mr. Smith did is nice

is how it starts.

What more should the poster have done to "acknowledge" what Robert F. Smith did?

[StarfishSaver]

13. It doesn't put them at his mercy

It's a gift. Why not just leave it at that?

[oldsoftie]

16. Oh for Gods sake. Cant just appreciate a wonderful deed?

[jalan48]

25. I agree. It's like we're heading back to a feudal system, dependent on the charity of our lords.

[Kurt V.]

37. agree. while it is a wonderful deed, ppl should consider:

a. why is this even necessary
b. how do ppl become billionaires

[tblue37]

34. Gates, too. nt

[bronxiteforever]

9. Kick & recommend. Freed from the Devos debt machine

[PatSeg]

12. Wow

That is truly uplifting and inspiring.

[Totally Tunsie]

14. Hey - Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is a billionnaire also...

How fitting a contribution for her to make! Cold day in Hell, and all that.

BRAVO, Mr. Smith!

[MineralMan]

17. That's, well, mighty nice of him!

A lovely gesture that will help those students get on with their lives.

Maybe this will become contagious out there in billionaire land.

[PJMcK]

39. Your last sentence

I'm not holding my breath. The greed of the ultra-rich is remarkably powerful.

Mr. Smith is a generous man. The tuition/student loan problem can't be solved with individual gifts, however.

[Demovictory9]

18. k&r

[calimary]

19. Daaaaayum! Would that ALL the billionaires in America did something similar.

Student debt can be crippling! This gift is a true miracle. He’s gonna go to Heaven when he dies.

[HipChick]

21. K&R...giving all those young people a head start...

Awesome!!

[Cracklin Charlie]

22. He has changed lives.

Bless his heart.

[corbettkroehler]

24. When A Philanthropist Shows This Much Class, All I Do Is Offer A Standing Ovation

Thank you, Mr. Smith!

[dameatball]

26. Let's enjoy the positive aspect of what Mr. Smith did. If it helps a bunch of college kids and

serves as an example for others to possibly follow, then live in the moment and enjoy a rare glimmer of hope. Lord knows we need it.

[Phentex]

41. exactly! We all realize the negative aspects...

can't we just be happy for these students for one single minute?

[marble falls]

27. Its nice when people's actions speak louder than words. Good school to start with.

[appalachiablue]

28. Wonderful! What a gift to the students, the school and society.

Goodness and generosity prevail!

Thanks for this good news.

[mfcorey1]

29. NOT TODAY, SALLIE MAE. There are 400 graduates who will not be terrorized

by you and Department of Education with Betsy Devos!

[demmiblue]

30. K&R

[pdsimdars]

32. I'm not clairvoyant but I bet he's not a Republican.

[Oldtimeralso]

33. What the rich leader of trump university?

He claims to be one of the richest men in America!

[SoCalDem]

35. How sad for the class of 2018

Philanthropy is nice, but imagine if all these zillionaire had paid more in taxes, and that tax money had been available in grant money to any student with needs...

[meadowlander]

36. Think we know who is getting the most commencement speaker invitations next year.

[sarabelle]

38. There is a cadre of billionaires who are paying it forward and took the "Giving Pledge."

We don't hear enough about them but we should sing their praises. They have pledged to give away 50% of their wealth during their lifetime.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2017/05/30/big-philanthropy-gets-a-boost-14-titans-from-7-countries-join-the-giving-pledge/#1276b17f4081

[klook]

42. Thanks for the reminder.

When things seem so bleak, it’s important to seek out those who are working to make things better — and to do what we can to make things better as well.

[Ilsa]

40. I hope he does the same for the Women's college at Spelman!

Morehouse is all male, and I'm thrilled for them. But women, still making less than men, need help with student loan debt, also.