Smith Business Magazine: Special Silver Jubilee Edition - Magazine - Page 7
SILVER JUBILEE
Meet
Bob
Smith
Robert H. Smith ’50 walked the corridors of Van Munching Hall
more often than most students realized. Trim and silver-haired,
the man who named the Smith School was unassuming, genial and
genuinely interested in everyone he met. His enormous natural
talents took him to the top of his profession. His passionate beliefs
in the goodness of our country, the potential of every person and
the importance of investing in excellence made him one of the
most in昀氀uential philanthropists the Washington, D.C., region
has ever known.
The Washington Post described him as a “visionary builderdeveloper” who “transformed more than just the local landscape.”
He gave away hundreds of millions of dollars to support education,
healthcare and the arts; beautify and preserve important historic
sites; and assure the continuity of Judaism. At the time of his
passing in 2009, he was also the University of Maryland’s single
greatest benefactor.
Robert Hilton Smith was born July 21, 1928, in Brooklyn, N.Y.
His family moved to Washington, D.C., in 1942, and he graduated
from Anacostia High School in 1946, the same year his father
formed the Charles E. Smith Construction Co.
He joined the 昀椀rm after graduating from the University of
Maryland in 1950 and took over the business in 1967, running it for
more than 昀椀ve decades with his brother-in-law, Robert P. Kogod.
They transformed the company into a multifaceted real estate
empire, eventually becoming Washington’s largest commercial
real estate landlords.
Among Mr. Smith’s most successful ventures as a builderdeveloper is the sprawling Crystal City complex in Arlington,
Va. When he 昀椀rst surveyed the area in 1961, it was a dilapidated
neighborhood far removed from the District’s corridors of power.
But he could see great potential where others saw only barren
ground. His vision was a gift that would serve him well in both his
career and philanthropic pursuits.
As a teen, Mr. Smith knew he wanted to be a builder-developer.
He 昀椀rst enrolled in the university’s School of Engineering, but soon
transferred to the business school.
“I 昀椀gured a background in business would serve me well, and I
could always hire engineers,” he said.
His stratospheric success allowed him to hire many engineers.
It also allowed him to make signi昀椀cant investments in art and
music, education, healthcare, Jewish cultural organizations and
historic national monuments.
He concentrated on giving transformational gifts to enable
organizations to achieve big goals and create change. He was
convinced that his funds, invested wisely, could make the world
a better place. In 2008, he received the National Humanities
Medal from President George W. Bush for his philanthropy in the
Washington region and around the world.
“I am a 昀椀rm believer that life is a two-way street,” he told Smith
Business magazine in 2004. “Giving back to institutions you believe
in is part of that philosophy. You don’t have to give millions of
dollars. The important point is to participate at the level you are
comfortable with. Financial success is not a destination; it is only
part of the journey, enabling you to reach your ultimate ful昀椀llment—
and that is to give something back to help make a difference.”
Financial success is not a destination; it is only part of the
journey, enabling you to reach your ultimate fulfillment—
and that is to give something back to help make a difference.
—Robert H. Smith ’50
rhsmith-editor@umd.edu
fall 2023
/ SMITH BUSINESS: SILVER JUBILEE EDITION
/
5
