Summary List Placement Billionaire private equity titan Robert F. Smith has apologized to his investors after a $140 million settlement of an investigation into his personal finances, describing it as a "humbling experience." The Department of Justice said this week that the backer of Smith's first private equity fund led Smith to use an offshore trust, which concealed $200 million of income from the IRS and helped Smith evade $43 million in federal income taxes. Smith paid a $139 million settlement and avoided prosecution, but the revelations still incited chaos inside his software-focused private equity fund Vista Equity Partners, Axios reported.