Smith made the announcement during his commencement at Morehouse College. School officials are still calculating the total amount owed by the 396 people who will benefit, but early estimates were that the total would be more than $10 million.

Smith founded Vista Equity Partners, a firm that buys and sells software companies, and became the richest African-American man in America; his personal net worth was recently estimated to be about $5 billion. He made the offer on behalf of him and his family. He earlier made a $1.5 million grant to the college.

The announcement came as a surprise to all in the audience, including many who knew Smith well. He has been active in philanthropy for many years. He was one of the largest donors to the National Museum of African-American Culture, and his foundation recently bought the house in which famed civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was born and the house in which he and his family lived and donated both to the National Park Service. He is also a longtime multi-million-dollar donor to the United Negro College Fund.

Smith in 2016 made a $50 million donation to his alma mater, Cornell University; the university named its biomolecular and chemical engineering school after him.