When General Dynamics pulled out and the fuel companies came calling, Fred Smith did something his board never would have approved. What he did next with the company’s last dollars either saved FedEx or simply bought it one more week…
Federal Express was down to its last $5,000, according to Roger Frock’s account. The money belonged to the company. It was the company’s last cash, and none of it was Fred Smith‘s personal money. Smith took it to Las Vegas anyway.
The trip paid for one week of jet fuel. For the rest of his life, Smith refused to call that week the moment that counted.
Smith served in the Marine Corps from 1966 to 1969 as a platoon leader and forward air controller in South Vietnam. He served two combat tours, was honorably discharged as a captain and was decorated with a Silver Star, a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.
He founded Federal Express on June 18, 1971, using a $4 million inheritance. Operations began on April 17, 1973, with 14 Dassault Falcon jets and 389 employees. On the first day, the company delivered 186 packages across 25 US cities. Over its first two years, it lost $30 million.
According to Memphis magazine, paychecks during this stretch were sometimes postdated, and pilots occasionally paid for fuel with their personal credit cards.
