1 / 4Robert F. Smith, a billionaire African-American businessman, announced to the 2019 graduating class at Morehouse college in Atlanta, Georgia, that he planned to pay off the entirety of their student debt, estimated at $40 millionRobert F.
"Can a billionaire pledge to pay off my student loan debt? I'm glad for the graduating class, but also envious," one Twitter user wrote, reflecting a sentiment common on social media. Paying off the debt often weighs heavily on young Americans' lives through their 20s and 30s, delaying the starting of families and the purchase of cars and homes.Last November, former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg pledged $1.8 billion to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, from which he graduated in 1964.
The following year, the independent politician from Vermont put a measure called the"College For All Act" before the Senate, which would have abolished tuition fees at public universities for most families. Warren last month unveiled a detailed proposal to abolish student fees in public universities and cancel student loan debt according to income.