Within the pantheon of historyโs most legendary punts, there is a man well and truly in a league of his own: Frederick Wallace Smith โ Founder, (former) CEO, and Chairman of FedEx.
It was the mid-70s, a bygone era when what youโre about to hear was deemed acceptable. In the third year of operating as a business, FedEx found itself in dire financial straits.
After a make-or-break business loan fell through, it seemed as though the nascent transport companyโs future had been written in stone. The kind of stone they place above a grave with a loving epitaph. But Smith refused to go down without a fight. The man served as a captain in the US Marine Corps during the Vietnam War (Silver Star, Bronze Star, two Purple Hearts, and all). Surrender wasnโt in his vocabulary.
Reaching a critical juncture, our daring C-suite hero took FedExโs last US$5,000 to Las Vegas โ where dreams are simultaneously born and slaughtered every five minutes โ to quite literally put everything on the line. At the blackjack table, fortune smiled upon him: US$5,000 became US$27,000.
That was than enough to cover the companyโs US$24,000 aviation fuel bill with change to spare. In fact, this kept FedEx alive for another week. Then one week stretched to two, two became four, and soon after, Fred Smith raised US$11 million. Needless to say, the gamble paid off.
A little down the road in 1976, FedEx reported its first profits, amounting to a very respectable US$3.6 million. Just four years later, profits almost exceeded US$40 million with gross revenue at close to half a billion. Fast forward to the present day, as the worldโs largest transport company, FedEx boasts a market cap thatโs a smidge under US$53 billion with revenue of approximately US$87.7 billion (as of 2024).
Definitely not too shabby for a risky arvo in Vegas.
Believe it or not, this is just one of many fascinating details surrounding the formation of FedEx. Its initial inception occurred while Fred Smith was attending Yale circa 1962. There, he submitted a paper on overnight delivery service in the information era for his economics class (for which he received a C grade).
In 2014, Frederick W. Smith was named the 26th Greatest Leader in the World by Fortune. In 2022, he stepped down as CEO to be succeeded by Raj Subramaniam. And as of 2025, old Smitty enjoys an estimated net worth of US$5.3 billion and, miraculously, zero serious back issues despite a lifetime of lugging around cajones of steel.
