Robert Peter (Bob) Smith (February 18, 1940 - January 7, 2019) was an American financial pioneer,

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

and author.

Early life

Robert P. Smith (also known as Bob Smith) was born on February 18, 1940, in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. Smith grew up in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline () is an affluent town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. An exclave of Norfolk County, Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton ...

as one of two children in his family, with his father practicing law.

Education

Smith attended

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. It was chartered in 1794. The main Bowdoin campus is located near Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River. In a ...

and received his undergraduate degree, going on to receive his law degree from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

Career

In 1978, Smith became the founder and managing director of Turan Corporation. His company went on to become one of the largest privately held

sovereign debt A country's gross government debt (also called public debt or sovereign debt) is the financial liabilities of the government sector. Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit occ ...

trading firms in the world. Peter Marber, the author of ''From Third World to World Class: The Future of Emerging Markets in the Global Economy'' (Marber 1998), credits Smith as one of four individuals who contributed "significantly to the birth of the debt market, and possibly even the entire emerging markets investment community, well ahead of Wall Street's more prominent houses." Smith was the author of ''Riches Among the Ruins: Adventures in the Dark Corners of the Global Economy,'' which details his more than 30 years' experience in emerging markets. ''Riches Among the Ruins'' chronicles Smith's time spent buying and selling high-risk securities in some of the most downtrodden economies in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. With his wealth, Smith served as a benefactor to th
David Saul Smith Union
at

and the Robert P. Smith Art Center and Theater at the

Roxbury Latin School The Roxbury Latin School (informally known as RL) is a private, college-preparatory, all-boys day school located in West Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1645 by Puritan missionary John Eliot, Roxbury Latin bills itself as the oldest ...

. He also served as a trustee for organizations including

Plimoth Plantation Plimoth Patuxet is a complex of living history museums in Plymouth, Massachusetts founded in 1947, formerly Plimoth Plantation. It replicates the original settlement of the Plymouth Colony established in the 17th century by the English coloni ...

and the

Fessenden School The Fessenden School is an independent day (Pre-K – Grade 9) and boarding school (Grades 6 – 9) for boys, founded in 1903 by Frederick J. Fessenden as a school for the intellectually gifted, and located at 250 Waltham Street, West Newton ...

. He joined the

United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 1961 and reorganized in 1998 ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, working for the US Government in

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

as well as the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

Public Profile

Robert Lenzner
writing for

Forbes Magazine ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The c ...

, compared Smith to Indiana Jones:

"If Robert P. Smith didn't exist, Eric Ambler would have to invent him. One night in the early 1980s, an explosion shook the Sheraton in San Salvador. Awakened in his room five floors up, Smith was amazed at his good fortune-not simply that he was unhurt, but that the violence would keep his competitors out of El Salvador for a while"

Robert Smith was an authority on developing world debt and was cited or quoted in numerous publications including ''

The Providence Journal ''The Providence Journal'', colloquially known as the ''ProJo'', is a daily newspaper serving the metropolitan area of Providence, the largest newspaper in Rhode Island, US. The newspaper was first published in 1829. The newspaper had won four ...

','' ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', ''

The Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' and various publications of

Euromoney ''Euromoney'' is an English-language monthly magazine focused on business and finance. First published in 1969, it is the flagship production of Euromoney Institutional Investor plc. History and profile ''Euromoney'' was first published in 19 ...

Publications of London.

Death

Robert Smith died by natural causes on January 7, 2019, at 78 years old. He is survived by his wife, Salwa, two children and two grandchildren who reside in Boston and New York City.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Robert 1940 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American philanthropists