Billionaire Robert Smith Urges Corporate America To Consider Reparations

Robert Smith, ranked by Forbes as the U.S.’s wealthiest African American, recently said companies that profited from the slave trade should consider paying reparations to Black Americans.

“I think that’s going to be a political decision that’s going to have to be made and decided upon,” Smith, CEO of Vista Equity Partners, told Reuters. “But I think corporations have to also think about, well, what is the right thing to do?”

He continued, adding, companies “can bring their expertise and capital to repair the communities that they are directly associated with in the industries in which they cover. I think that has to be a very, a very thoughtful approach. But I think action needs to be taken.”