Post-service, he followed the entrepreneurial family tradition and founded Federal Express on June 18, 1971. He used his family inheritance and raised around what would be $690M in today's dollars in venture capital to start the firm. The company initially had 14 Falcon-20 jets to service 25 cities.
Smith once used the last $5,000 that Federal Express had and gambled it in Las Vegas playing Blackjack, turning it into $27,000. The winnings covered the firm's fuel bill of $24,000.
The Corps played a critical influence on the culture and organization of his company, which included the USMC company grade and NCO leadership tenets serving as key components of the FedEx Manager guide and FedEx Operating manual.
He made sure veterans were taken care of as well. Smith explained, "If you could fly, drive a truck, or lift a box, if you served in Vietnam, you had a job."
He serves on the board of many high-level companies such as General Mills, EW Scripps, Autozone and as the chairman of the U.S.-China Business Council. Of note, he donated $65M to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation in 2022, which is the largest private gift the organization has ever received.
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