Oprah Responds to Critic Who Compared Her to Billionaires Paying Off Loans
Written by SOURCE on May 20, 2019
Oprah Winfrey delivered the commencement address at Colorado College over the weekend and promptly took to Instagram to celebrate the graduates’ successes.
“I don’t know who this guy is but he sure is happy to graduate,” the multi-hyphenate wrote on Instagram. “I shook hands with all 571 members of @coloradocollege’s Class of 2019 and gave them a copy of The Path Made Clear.”
However, one detractor took to the comments section to draw comparisons between Oprah, who has consistently channeled her net worth and platform into philanthropic efforts, to billionaire technology investor Robert F. Smith, who pledged to pay off the graduating class’ student loans at Morehouse College, reportedly totaling $40 million.
“Should have paid off their student debt,” the critic commented on Oprah’s post.
However, the talk show host responded to the comment by noting the financial assistance she had gifted. “Already paid 13m in scholarships,” Oprah wrote. “Have put over 400 men through Morehouse.” The comment was promptly deleted, although Comments by Celebs was quick with the screenshot.
Oprah didn’t detail her contributions to Morehouse in the comment, however, she did donate $1 million to the college in 1989, when she similarly gave the commencement address. Her gift established a fund, which now amounts to $12 million and has provided scholarships for 400 students, according to HuffPost.
