Robert Smith. Vista Equity Partners

Many people greatly limit their potential by focusing on the past, and especially on their current profession.
Of course, it is very difficult for an ordinary worker to give up everything and start learning a new profession, new skills and move to a completely new step in his life.

However, no matter how great the prejudices of the majority may be, completely different people, of different professions, who had practically nothing to do with the stock exchange, achieved success on the stock exchange.

One of the brightest representatives of managers who changed their lives and achieved a billion-dollar fortune is Robert Smith, founder and head of Vista Equity Partners.

early years

Robert Smith was born on December 1, 1962, into an ordinary African-American family of learned teachers. From childhood he was surrounded by science and had quite acceptable living conditions. It is worth noting that in his biography there is a very interesting fact about his parents - when Smith was still a baby, his mother attended the sermons of Martin Luke King, and he himself was present during that famous speech, which today is known as “I Have a Dream.”

The future financier studied at Carson Elementary School, then entered high school in Denver. It is worth noting that even at school he demonstrated phenomenal skills in physics, mathematics and chemistry, therefore, as a graduate, he really wanted to get into the Bell Labs internship program.

However, since the program was only for college graduates, he was rejected. Nevertheless, Robert showed great persistence and called almost every day asking to take him.

Bell Labs saw his great desire and took him on board at the first opportunity. And for good reason, since during his internship he developed a simple test that would allow him to find out the reliability of semiconductors.

After high school, the choice fell on one of the most prestigious technical universities, and he entered Cornell University. It is worth noting that he was an active student and was even a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He received his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering.

First job

Robert Smith's career in his specialty, he managed to work as a light industry engineer in companies such as Air Products & Chemicals, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Kraft General Foods.

It is worth noting that he was responsible for the complete development of both products and equipment that would support production. During his work, he acquired two American and two European patents, which confirmed his intellectual property.

A real turning point in his life was studying at Columbia University, where he successfully completed the program and received an MBA with honors. Having such an education opened many doors to investment companies, which he naturally took advantage of.

So his first job was the investment bank Goldman Sachs, where he held various positions from 19994 to 2000. Goldman Sachs became interested in Robert Smith due to his knowledge of technology industries and the nuances of production, so he was entrusted with leading projects related to silicone valley.

In this position, he earned hundreds of millions of dollars for the company, as he was actively involved in acquisitions for companies such as Apple, Microsoft, and Yahoo, Texas Instruments, and eBay.

Opening an investment company.

In 2000, having accumulated substantial capital, influence and experience, Robert Smt left Goldman Sachs and founded his own company called Vista Equity Partners.


It is worth noting that in a very short time the company managed about $24 billion, and when forming a portfolio of shares, attention was paid only to high-tech companies.

For example, the company's portfolio includes shares of such companies as EagleView, Lithium, Kibo, Vista - Finastra, TIBCO, Solera, Infloblox.

Vista Equity Partners had approximately $30 billion under management in 2017, with Robert Smith's personal wealth estimated at $4 billion.