What seemed like a typical commencement address at Morehouse College turned out to be the biggest surprise gift of a lifetime to graduates.
A billionaire investor is pledging to pay off the student loan debt for this year's graduates of Morehouse College in Atlanta.
Robert F. Smith made the commitment while delivering the commencement address at Morehouse over the weekend.
Smith announced that he is paying off all of the student debt for the 396 graduates of the historically black college, estimated to be tens of millions of dollars.
The stunning announcement leaves the students speechless at first and then the crowd exploded with cheers.
In his speech, Smith stresses the importance of community, especially the many people that helped him along the way and because of that, he chose to wipe away the students' debt.
Morehouse College says the exact amount to be covered is still being calculated.
As for Smith, he is the founder of the investment firm Vista Equity Partners.
Forbes calculates his wealth at about 5-billion dollars.