About Frederick Smith
Frederick Smith, founder and former CEO of FedEx, has continued to comment on trade, economic policy, and supply chain issues in public appearances. In a January 2023 conversation at MIT, Smith said he was personally disappointed by China's shift toward a "state directed Mercantile path" after he had pushed for its entry into the WTO. He also stated that "work is now optional" in the U.S., attributing inflation and slow growth to a lack of blue-collar labor willing to work. Smith expressed support for a carbon tax and said FedEx does not view Amazon as a direct competitor.
In earlier appearances, Smith advocated for infrastructure investment, calling the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure bill "a step in the right direction." He said the U.S. should not abandon the Trans-Pacific Partnership but improve it, and warned that withdrawal from NAFTA would have "massive repercussions." Smith has repeatedly called for lowering the U.S. corporate tax rate and adopting a territorial tax system, arguing that the current code discourages investment. He also stated that 85% of U.S. job losses over the past 25 years were due to automation, not trade.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Frederick Smith's recent appearances.
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✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
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Narrator0:02
Fred Smith's vision started an industry that was an overnight success. Hello, Federal Express when it absolutely positively has to be there overnight. And business aviation was there from the beginning.
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Frederick Smith0:21
Business aviation has been an integral part of FedEx's success since the day we were founded. The military calls it a force multiplier, and that's what our business aviation aircraft have been for FedEx. They've given us the capability to fight above our weight, and with the enormous global network we have in place today, it allows us to move around the world with our key executives in a much more efficient and productive fashion than would have been the case had we not operated business aircraft. The NBAA is the institution that makes sure that the voice of business aircraft operators is effectively heard and represents the interest of business aviation. Our chairman, ex-Marine, of course, likes to think in Marine terms from time to time, and he's told me often that that corporate fleet is there to allow us to shoot, move, and communicate. The first time I ever saw Al Yulchi, he was Juan Trippe's corporate pilot. Then we became associated again in the early 70s when we were buying the Falcon DA20s to convert into small express freighters that were the original aircraft of FedEx. So Al and I go back 40 years on a personal basis, and I first saw him over half a century ago.
Orbis is one of the great charities of the world. Orbis's mission is to restore sight, particularly to people around the world who don't have access to the modern technologies that we take for granted in the industrialized world. It does so by taking volunteer physicians and nurses and associates in a specially equipped flying hospital to the remotest parts of the world in order to perform operations that restore people's sight, and perhaps even more importantly, teach local doctors how to do the same on an ongoing basis. Our pilots volunteer their time to fly these missions. If you've ever flown with Orbis and seen the wonderful work that they do, you would automatically want to be part of this operation. There are 39 million people in this world that are blind today. It's a remarkable thing for me to consider that FedEx has partnered with Orbis to literally save the vision of hundreds of thousands of people. Anyway, every way we can help, we want to be part of this mission. I went to 22 different countries. We would see patients that would see their children for the first time, grandparents that would see their grandchildren for the first time. We've taken that one step further and have now donated an MD10 to Orbis that's going to become the next generation Flying Eye Hospital. Without FedEx, without Fred Smith, without the entire FedEx family, we wouldn't have this airplane. And if we don't have this airplane, then we don't have Orbis. Those of us in aviation can take a great deal of pride in what this fantastic gift that Al Yulchi started so many years ago continues to give to so many people around the world. It has been one of the great pleasures of my professional life to see FedEx be able to support Orbis to the extent we've been able to do so. Congratulations Fred Smith and FedEx Express on being the recipients of the 2012 NBAA Al Yulchi Humanitarian Award.
