Billionaire vows to pay grads’ student
loans in commencement speech
by
Lee Brown
Original Article
Posted By: MissMolly,
5/20/2019 4:48:08 AM
Now that’s a motivational speech they can really take to the bank.
Billionaire tech investor Robert F. Smith stunned college graduates on Sunday as he gave their commencement speech — offering to pay their student debts despite it costing an estimated $40 million.
“On behalf of the eight generations of my family that have been in this country, we’re gonna put a little fuel in your bus,” Smith told the 400 graduating seniors at the all-male Morehouse College in Atlanta.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Safari Man 5/20/2019 5:28:17 AM (No. 67505)
I don't know why they are so excited -- I doubt any of them actually considered repaying these loans.
14 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
ARKfamily 5/20/2019 5:54:01 AM (No. 67508)
I am not fond of previous poster's comments. How can that judgement be made? There might be a smattering of a few that won't pay but there could be a lot more that are responsible.
5 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
StormCnter 5/20/2019 6:15:46 AM (No. 67522)
I love this. If I were super rich, this is the kind of thing I would really enjoy doing, but it's nicer if it's done quietly and not for publicity. Hooray for Mr. Smith!
10 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
poliposter 5/20/2019 6:27:26 AM (No. 67527)
I would be mad if I were in the class of 2018 or 2020!
8 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
lifelonghuman 5/20/2019 7:37:03 AM (No. 67556)
Won't they be taxed on this "windfall"?
5 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
susieq1 5/20/2019 7:50:23 AM (No. 67563)
How is there still an all males college?
3 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
montwoodcliff 5/20/2019 7:54:23 AM (No. 67564)
I do believe they will have to pay income tax at both Federal and State levels! Welcome to the real world!
What is really galling is that everyone of these schools is taking advantage of these kids and families. Except for STEM classes a majority of of studies are worthless in today’s world. Also, these schools are in the loan business. That’s where they make a lot of money...the interest on those loans! There is no way that an education should cost $200,000 or more! And there is no reason for Washington to send money to universities and colleges. That has to stop!
8 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
zephyrgirl 5/20/2019 8:21:00 AM (No. 67576)
So most of these students will head out into the world debt-free, but unless they have a STEM (or maybe a business) degree, will end up in jobs that don't require a degree.
6 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
DVC 5/20/2019 10:00:36 AM (No. 67649)
So, is it racist when you only pay for black student loans?
5 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
felixcat 5/20/2019 10:51:45 AM (No. 67680)
Well, it's his money so he can do with it as he pleases, but really. So the graduates who were thrifty, etc - oh well.
3 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Robert Jones 5/20/2019 11:16:03 AM (No. 67688)
How did a black man get so much money? Isn’t this country bigoted and blacks can’t get ahead?
7 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
comstock 5/20/2019 11:36:29 AM (No. 67702)
My next-door neighbor for many years was a graduate of Morehouse Collage. Top-notch guy, and Morehouse is a top-notch College. He breezed through the Stanford MBA program, raised two outstanding sons who are both now successful attorneys. Stereotypes don't work.
6 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
Vaquero45 5/20/2019 11:38:36 AM (No. 67703)
Bad move, Mr. Smith. A lot of them will now be expecting handouts for the rest of their lives.
Anyone dumb enough to go 90 grand in the hole for a ho-hum degree from a small college in Georgia shouldn’t be bailed out of trouble.
4 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
StormCnter 5/20/2019 12:11:36 PM (No. 67713)
There's a lot of petty sniping on this thread. Mr. Smith did a good and generous thing. The kids are graduating college and they are being given an extra boost by Mr. Smith wiping out the college loans. I don't see anything to criticize. I wish Mr. Smith and every one of those graduates only good things in their futures.
8 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
MorningStar 5/20/2019 4:47:06 PM (No. 67794)
If several of the posters had bothered to actually read the uplifting article, they would've found out that the $40M would be made in a GRANT. That usually means it's handled as a gift and not taxable. Some of these astonished graduates had $200,000 in college loans, which works out to $50,000 a year in tuition, board, books, etc. This AWESOME and most GENEROUS gift will be appreciated for years to come. Mr. Smith encouraged the students to "pay it forward,"
4 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
MickTurn 5/20/2019 5:59:28 PM (No. 67824)
I'd have done the same thing with a major Caveat...you must have a high paying JOB in 6 months or you get nothing!
0 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
watashiyo 5/20/2019 7:41:57 PM (No. 67862)
A good right off for business and yes, the IRS will tax those gifts. Regardless, the graduates will be free of debt and it will allow them to make plans for buying a car, a house or even get married and have a baby. However, considering the flaws of human nature, sometimes free stuff could do more harm than good in the field of discipline and ethics.
2 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
Pepper Tree 5/21/2019 12:00:20 AM (No. 67918)
FOX showed clips of Smith making that announcements and the graduates. I must say, they do look like the talented 10%. Absent
were dreadlocks and shoulder-length braided cornrows on men.
Didn’t see any Gucci sunglasses, gold-capped teeth or day-glo
polyester weaves either. I think Mr. Smith knows who these kids
are this was a very good move on his part.
1 person likes this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
SALady 5/21/2019 12:13:55 AM (No. 67919)
You know there are some students who either worked while going to school, or whose parents worked 2 and 3 jobs, so that they or their kid could get out of college debt free.
Boy, do they feel like idiots now...
0 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
Drumie 5/21/2019 1:12:17 AM (No. 67928)
Each one of those graduates will get a check from Mr. Smith and a 1099 to go with it.
0 people like this.
The real point here is this is a wealthy black man who had the means to do this. Hopefully, some of the graduates will pay it forward. He called on other alumni to do the same.
He spent his money earned in the US in the US on Americans, unlike celebrities and the likes of Gates.
1 person likes this.
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