I replied to another comment with this story which has now been downvoted to oblivion, but I'd highly recommend another article on the topic from the washington

I replied to another comment with this story which has now been downvoted to oblivion, but I'd highly recommend another article on the topic from the washington post[1], it has a far better narrative (in my opinion). At the start of his career as a private equity investor, he got one of those offers he couldn't refuse, a billion dollar investment from a single source that came with some strings. When the strings came undone in the form of govt. investigation into the tax obfuscation, he tried to fix it by applying for a IRS program which was rejected. He then went 0 -> 100% on headline making philanthropy. Essentially he made a deal with the devil and came out of it without a scratch, relatively speaking. Perhaps came out ahead would be a better way of phrasing that. Obviously none of this takes away from the work/drive that went into making Vista successful, but it's still an interesting story of how he got his start. > Brockman’s offer set Smith up with his own private equity firm, Vista Equity Partners, and more than $1 billion in capital to invest, according to Smith’s statement to prosecutors. That arrangement eventually allowed Smith to become a billionaire himself. Both aspects stem from a deal Smith and Brockman made 20 years ago, one that joined the unlikely pair in a venture with vast ambitions. Smith, the determined son of Denver schoolteachers, was then an aspiring financier; Brockman was older and far wealthier, a man who had already made a fortune with a company that sold software for the automotive industry. These two sides of Smith — the impressive generosity on one and the admitted tax evasion on the other — may be hard to reconcile. But they are inextricable, according to documents reviewed by The Washington Post, including charity filings with tax authorities and Justice Department court filings. Smith applied for the IRS program in March 2014 but was quickly rejected. This is typically a sign the agency already is scrutinizing the applicant’s tax filings, former federal prosecutors said. It is about this time that Smith became a major philanthropist, frequently making headlines with his generosity. [1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/11/09/smith-brockman-tax-evasion/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/11/09/smith-bro...