Fred Smith founded FedEx in 1973 after becoming fascinated with the transportation industry while studying Economics at Yale. He saw a need for a faster and more reliable service, specifically overnight delivery, as computers and information moved data at the speed of light. He wrote about it in a term paper in 1965, and when asked what he received, Smith replied, “I don’t know, probably made my usual C.”

With $84 million to get things started, Smith initially bought 14 planes with his initial $84 million and set up the operations in Memphis, Tennessee. It was an ambitious plan with high operational costs. As the price of fuel increased in the mid ‘70s, FedEx was in debt millions of dollars. One week, they didn’t have enough money to fuel the planes. The company had a mere $5,000 to its name.

After a critical business loan was denied, he took the company’s last $5,000 to Las Vegas and won $27,000 gambling on blackjack to cover the company’s $24,000 fuel bill. It kept FedEx alive for one more week.

• Still, Smith refused to surrender. He took the last $5,000 and flew to Las Vegas, placed the company’s remaining money on Black Jack bets over the weekend and won an additional $27,000 by Monday. It wasn’t a huge windfall, but the total $32,000 was enough to refuel the planes and keep the business running for a few more days.
• There is a commonly cited claim that in the early 70s, Fred Smith - the founder of Fedex, risked the company's last $5,000 in a casino gamble: Desperate to pay bills, he flies to Las Vegas, wins $27,000 at blackjack and wires it back to FedEx.
• FedEx founder and CEO Fred Smith is also a part owner of the Washington Redskins.

Co-Founder Robert Frock describes the episode in the book, Changing How the World Does Business: Fedex’s Incredible Journey to Success – The Inside Story.

The Founder Of FedEx Saved The Company From Bankruptcy With His Blackjack Winnings FedEx, the world's first overnight. FedEx, the world's first overnight. The Redskins play at FedEx Field as part of a $205 million naming-rights deal that began in 1999. After FedEx’s demand, team owner Daniel Snyder agreed to a “thorough review” of the name.

“I asked Fred where the funds had come from, and he responded, ‘The meeting with the General Dynamics board was a bust and I knew we needed money for Monday, so I took a plane to Las Vegas and won $27,000. ’I said, ‘You mean you took our last $5,000— how could you do that?’ He shrugged his shoulders and said, ‘What difference does it make? Without the funds for the fuel companies, we couldn’t have flown anyway.’ Fred’s luck held again. It was not much, but it came at a critical time and kept us in business for another week.”

Fedex Owner Blackjack Machine

Smith’s nerves of steel, allowed FedEx to stay in business long enough to secure the additional $11 million to scale the company to a size where its own revenue could sustain its future growth.

Fedex Owner Blackjack Games

What’s notable is that his close friends commented that Fred was no blackjack pro, and was relatively new to the game when he decided to risk it all on that fateful day.

Fedex Owner Blackjack Game

So the next time you see a FedEx truck or plane making a delivery, you’ll know that a battle with the blackjack dealer in the Las Vegas kept FedEx in the black and alive today.

Fedex Owner Played Blackjack

If you enjoyed this article, read How Don Johnson Won $15 Million Dollars playing Blackjack in Las Vegas.