The post The Passing Of Fred Smith And A Tale Of Two Companies appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

CHICAGO, IL – FedEx jets sit at the company’s facility at O’Hare International Airport on September … More 19, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. I(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) Getty Images On June 21, Fred W. Smith, founder of Federal Express, passed away. He is rightfully remembered for founding the express shipment industry utilizing a hub and spoke model, which became the standard for airlines and other transportation modes. Although from a wealthy family (his father owned the Toddle House restaurant chain and Dixie Greyhound Lines), he served two tours in Vietnam as a Forward Air Controller (FAC) in the Marine Corps, winning a Silver Star, Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. Smith was a legendary entrepeneur. He is said to have received a C on his economics paper at Yale outlining the concept of an overnight delivery system. In 1970, he used his inheritance of $4 Million ($32 Million in 2025 dollars) to purchase the controlling interest in an aircraft trading company and a year later launched Federal Express. To do this, he had raised $91 Million ($724 Millon in 2025 dollars) in venture capital. He used this investment to buy 14 Dassault Falcon 20 jets and began offering service to 25 cities. The service network was originally patterned on the Federal Reserve, flying checks between banks in a region to a central clearinghouse to speed clearing transactions. The adoption of “Federal” in the name was a bit of a marketing ploy to gain the attention of the Federal Reserve to adopt the service and convey a national scope. In addition to checks, the business soon expanded to include small packages. For several years, the business struggled. A legendary story told of Smith struggling to pay a $24,000 fuel bill due the next day. Going to Las Vegas with his…

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Filed under: News - @ June 29, 2025 10:28 pm