This op-ed originally appeared in RealClear Energy on June 26, 2025. Read the original.
By: Robbie Diamond
The pantheon of great American innovators, entrepreneurs, and industrialists includes Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Andrew Carnegie, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk. Exceptional and among in their ranks is Frederick W. Smith, the Founder and long serving Chairman and CEO of FedEx Corporation, who passed away this past weekend.
Fred Smith invented the company that reimagined “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight,” and shrank the world bringing global business and wealth to countless people. He led the company for four decades.
As a businessman, his accomplishments speak for themselves, but he was humble: Walking anywhere, we would invariably encounter a FedEx driver or delivery worker—he would always pause to engage them in conversation.
He was a devoted family man. He would go from taking a call from a world leader, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, or famous football coach, to a family member—which always took precedent. His son Arthur is the current Offensive Coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Mr. Smith was a patriot and a war hero. A Marine Corps veteran who served two tours in Vietnam, he was awarded a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, and two Purple Hearts. He could name every person who had died next to him—not a short list. He said he thought of each of them every single day.
Mr. Smith was a maverick willing to take on ideological blinders and special interests. He had iconically pushed for strategic deregulation of the airline and trucking industries, but he was a passionate advocate for fuel economy reforms and strengthened regulations. A free market champion and business icon, Mr. Smith saw government intervention as necessary to counter oil market manipulation from OPEC+, the “clumsy cartel.” Always looking ahead, he was also an early advocate for electric vehicle incentives before the technology was mainstream.
It was through this political advocacy that I came to know him. The story of Mr. Smith, FedEx, and SAFE goes back to the beginning of FedEx. In 1973, the OPEC Oil Embargo and spike in fuel prices almost killed the nascent FedEx “in its cradle,” and in the process turned Mr. Smith into a powerful advocate for reducing oil dependence.
In 2004/2005, I launched SAFE to address our oil dependence crisis, and had begun to work with General P.X. Kelley, the 28th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps. General Kelley wrote a letter to several CEOs about the importance of fuel economy standards and reducing oil dependence for economic and national security reasons. Mr. Smith called me directly saying that he was responding to a letter from the former Commandant of the Marine Corps. This call changed my life, and his direct outreach symbolized everything you needed to know about Fred Smith: Humility, duty, and a bias to action.
Mr. Smith came to our events and was compelled by our mission and our “just the facts” approach to its solution: We support maximizing domestic oil and gas production with the highest standards, using the oil as efficiently as possible with reformed and strengthened fuel economy standards, and finding fuel alternatives like electric vehicles so we were not dependent on only one fuel source, oil, for all transportation. He and SAFE have not strayed from this mission or its solutions through Democratic and Republican Administrations and Congresses.
Mr. Smith was the co-chair of our Energy Security Leadership Council (ESLC). He only had one clear guidance: “I want to win.” We won a lot, and changed laws and the debate on energy security issues. He used to say that we punched above our weight—but much of our success was because he put his reputation behind our work.
What I’ll remember most are his humility and compassion. During one of the most intense periods for the organization in 2007—the first fuel economy debate when we were fighting the auto industry, the oil industry, conservatives and environmentalists—my wife and I picked up knowing it was Mr. Smith. I told him with my voice cracking that my wife had given birth, that there has been an issue, and that we did not know what was wrong with my new daughter. He simply said, “God bless her and God bless you. Please focus on your wife, daughter and family.”
Smith’s intellect, historical knowledge, business acumen were striking to experience, but what’s most memorable about him is his patriotism, generosity, and humility. So many people are so devastated by this loss and feel so blessed for knowing him and learning from him. I know I am.
May God Bless Frederick W. Smith and may his family, co-workers, and all Americans find comfort in our memories and what he did for us. And May God Bless America and our service men and women, as I am sure he will be advocating for them from Heaven.
Robbie Diamond is the Founder and CEO of SAFE and the Electrification Coalition.
