Eddie Smith transfers Grady-White Boats to nonprofit ownership

Smith had planned for his only child, Chris, to inherit the private business. But he died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis five years ago, a year after the death of Smith’s wife of 57 years, Jo Allison.

Smith said he is forfeiting his claim to any profits from the company’s sale, or any tax benefit from a donation of his stock. He expects to pay a multimillion-dollar tax bill.

“I had no confidence that a new owner would keep that kind of culture going,” he told the newspaper. “This company has a soul and I didn’t want to lose that.”

Business North Carolina and Bcip Productions issued this video last year about Grady-White that described a bit of that soul.

Smith’s philanthropy has had a major impact on North  Carolina for many years. In 2018, the ECU Health Cancer Care at the Eddie and Jo Allison Smith Tower opened, marking a major expansion for the Greenville system. Two years later, he made the largest gift in the history of ECU’s Pirate Club and Athletics at the time, establishing the Grady-White Boats Athletic Campus.

The Eddie and Jo Allison Family Foundation had assets of $359 million at the end of 2024, according to its most recent tax filing. Grants totaled $20.7 million in 2024 to dozens of nonprofits, mainly in eastern North Carolina. The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Coastal Plains, based in Winterville, received $3.4 million.