Morehouse College seniors got a surprise Sunday when billionaire investor Robert F. Smith announced during his commencement speech that he would pay off the student-loan debt for the historically black college’s graduating class.

“My family is going to create a grant to eliminate your student loans,” he told the newly minted graduates in Atlanta.

The announcement — in which Smith urged the graduates to follow his lead in paying it forward — was met with a standing ovation and chants of “MVP!”