The heirs of FedEx founder Fred Smith are tightening up how they handle the family’s vast fortune, rolling out a new family office called FWS Enterprises and immediately putting Memphis on notice. After a first family retreat over the weekend of July 25, the Smiths set up committees to oversee both investments and philanthropy. By Tuesday, they had already gone public with a $50 million challenge grant to the Memphis Zoo, money the zoo must match to unlock what the family calls the biggest gift in the zoo’s roughly 120‑year history.
The move was first reported by Daily Memphian, where enterprise reporter Samuel Hardiman quoted FedEx executive Richard Smith saying the retreat produced "several key committees" for the new FWS Enterprises family office. The outlet cast the new structure as a shift toward more centralized and strategic control of family assets and large-scale giving, rather than one-off checks.
Formal structure after Fred Smith’s death
The reorganization follows the death of Frederick W. "Fred" Smith in June 2025, which FedEx documented in its corporate newsroom. FedEx confirmed his passing and the sizable legacy he left in Memphis. The company’s leadership description lists Richard W. Smith among its senior executives, and FedEx names him COO International and CEO Airline, a reminder that the family remains deeply woven into both the corporate and civic fabric of the city.
Zoo gift is a challenge match
According to Daily Memphian, the $50 million commitment to the Memphis Zoo is structured as a classic challenge grant: the zoo has to raise matching dollars before the Smith family money comes through. The outlet reported that it would mark the zoo’s largest private contribution to date, although officials have not yet laid out a project-by-project breakdown of how the funds will ultimately be used.
Smith giving has already reshaped local projects
The Smiths are no strangers to using challenge money to rally other donors. In 2023, the Fred Smith family announced a $50 million challenge gift to the University of Memphis to support renovations at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, a lead pledge that set off a multi-year fundraising effort. The university’s athletics site details the stadium renovation campaign and credits that leadership gift with helping jump-start the project: University of Memphis Athletics.
Specifics on timing, matching thresholds and individual projects tied to the zoo pledge are still light. What is clear is that the creation of FWS Enterprises points to tighter, coordinated oversight of Smith family philanthropy in place of more ad hoc donations. A matching campaign at this level could reset the zoo’s capital-planning calendar and open the door to larger conservation or visitor-experience upgrades, but only if community and institutional donors step up with the required match.
