Robert Smith, a self-made African American billionaire, is sponsoring the education of 24 Chibok schoolgirls in American University, Yola, in Adamawa State.
His identity was revealed today by Garba Shehu, senior special assistant on media to President Muhammadu Buhari, at an interaction with journalists in Abuja.
Mr Smith is worth $2.5 billion. He made a fortune is software, according to Forbes.
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Robert Smith announced a $50 million gift in January to his alma mater Cornell University, which renamed its school of chemical and bioengineering after him. In June he was named chairman of Carnegie Hall.The son of Ph.D’s, he was bussed across town to his school in the early days of desegregation. He later convinced Bell Labs when he was in high school to give him an internship typically only available to college upperclassman by calling them weekly for five months. Smith quit Goldman Sachs to open his own private equity shop, Vista Equity Partners, in 2000. Neuberger Berman bought a stake in the $16.9 billion (assets) Austin, Texas firm, best known for fixing up enterprise software outfits, in July 2015. That same month, Smith married 2010 Playboy Playmate of the Year Hope Dworaczyk in Italy.
Thank you Mr. Smith for coming to the help of these precious young girls.