Robert Frederick Smith: Billionaire used biz funds to buy GF an apartment, and luxury mansions
AUSTIN, TEXAS: Billionaire tax cheat Robert Frederick Smith put up his girlfriend in a luxurious apartment using business funds. He also bought luxury properties worldwide using untaxed income, according to court documents obtained by DailyMail.
Smith admitted to illegally hiding millions of dollars from the Internal Revenue Service in offshore tax havens. The court slapped him with $139 million in penalties in 2021 to avoid jail in a controversial non-prosecution agreement.
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What did Smith purchase with his untaxed income?
On June 3, prosecutors produced a filing that included an affidavit from a Treasury Special Agent, listing out the tax scheme and how Smith spent his money. A federal investigator's affidavit lists a 300-acre ranch in Colorado, a club and condos in the French Alps, and a Sonoma vacation home among the lavish purchases on his unclaimed income. Smith bought the Boulder River Ranch in Black Hawk, Colorado between 2009 and 2013 using $12 million of untaxed funds and spent $22 million to refurbish it.
DailyMail reported that the 6,600 square foot riverside home sits on 300 acres and boasts a pool, tennis court, and fishing lake. He also purchased two ski condos and a restaurant called The White Pearl in the French Alps town of Megève. The Federal investigation has not done any good to Smith. He has been questioned from all angles in the gargantuan tax case, and some pieces of information are starting to leak out, revealing how Smith spent some of his untaxed millions.
Who is Robert Frederick Smith?
Smith was quick to progress in his career as an investment banker. He became the founder and CEO of the private equity firm Vista Equity Partners in 2000. According to Forbes, with $92 billion in assets, Vista is one of the best-performing private equity firms, posting annualized returns of 22% since inception. The company made a massive investment in many famous technological companies. Eventually, it became the fourth largest enterprise software firm in 2019 with $46billion of funding, after Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP. His lawyers have always tried to keep his business and personal affairs from spilling into the courts. Smith was trapped in the most significant tax bust in the history of the US in 2020. However, he escaped charges by agreeing to testify against his business partner, former Reynolds & Reynolds CEO Robert Brockman.