The Average American Billionare
By: Jack Gallagher
Mid-1800's to Mid 1900's
The exceptions to this are Warren Buffett (left) and Bill Gates (right)
Industries
Heavy industry: Oil, steel, lumbar railroads. An example in this is John D. Rockefeller, he created the Standard Oil company and within ten years of the companies creation it held 90% of the nations oil business
Light Industry: John Jacob Astor is an example of this industry. He was the leading fur trader in the country by 1800.
Finance: Some examples of this include Warren Buffett, Stephen Girard, and Jay Gould. Warren Buffett is an investor who has created a stock holding company that has earned him a lot of money. Stephen Girard got into financial banking in order to finance the War of 1812. Jay Gould was an investor who manipulated stocks and bribed people.
Technology: Bill Gates is an example of this, he bought a software company that helped start the company Microsoft.
How Honest and Ethical They Were
Most were not honest and ethical, they created monopolies that controlled the whole industry and overpowered rivals. A few of these industries that were monopolized were: Steel, fur trading, lumbar, and a few more. Some men, such as Vanderbilt, were very unethical in the fact that they did illegal activities to make more money. Other men would manipulate stocks or try and corner the Gold market in order to make more money. Of course, there were some exceptions, like Andrew Carnagie who did philanthropic distribution of his profits
John D. Rockefeller
Established Standard Oil and created a monopoly
Andrew Carnegie
Built a Steel empire in the late 1800's
Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt
A ruthless steamboat entrepreneur who also got involved in the railroad industry