FedEx Founder Frederick Smith Passes Away at 80: Remembering His Remarkable Legacy Frederick W. Smith , the visionary founder of FedEx , has passed away at the age of 80. The news was officially announced by FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam through a company memo published on Saturday. Born in 1944 , Frederick Smith was a former officer in the United States Marine Corps and served during the Vietnam War . In 1973 , he founded Federal Express with just 389 employees and a fleet of 14 small aircraft . On its very first night, the company delivered 186 packages from Memphis to 25 cities across the United States . Over the decades, FedEx expanded into a global logistics powerhouse. Today, FedEx operates over 705 aircraft , more than 200,000 delivery vehicles , and manages nearly 5,000 global facilities . The company now employs approximately 500,000 people worldwide and handles an average of 17 million shipments every day . In 2022, Smith stepped down as CEO, passing the leadership t...