CEO Turns Down $400 Million Offer to Give Company to Charity Instead

Thought Question: If you had more than you needed someday, how would you use it to help others?

There are likely very few people on the planet who would turn down a $400 million purchase offer and instead give their company away. Eddie Smith Jr. just did.

He's the North Carolina owner of Grady-White Boats. And he's handing control of the company to a non-profit structure. It'll both preserve the company and direct all of its future profits that aren’t used to run the business to charitable causes. Among them: conservation, education, and healthcare.

The 83-year-old businessman is also giving up daily control of the business. For 30 years, he’s put in 80-100 hours weekly to bring it from going bankrupt to earning $100 million a year. 

“I just think that those of us that are fortunate enough to be in a position to help others … It’s really a gift to me to be able to do what I do,” Smith told Fortune magazine.

Smith knows first-hand what it's like to struggle. He grew up in near-poverty. He was raised in a family headed by a father who worked many odd jobs to keep food on the table. At least three times a week the main course was Spam. Smith, who once got a paper route by lying about his age, became the first in the household to graduate from college.

At the end of a long career, Smith thought about selling his company. But he was deterred after learning of the experiences of friends in similar spots. They sold their businesses only to regret it after seeing them decline afterward. Smith was also deeply affected by the deaths of his wife and son in 2021 and 2022. His son’s death left his company without a successor. Smith told Fortune he hopes other business owners will copy him.

“I think there’s room for a lot more (giving) in our country,” he said.

Photo of Eddie Smith Jr. from Grady-White Boats press release.