Cornelius Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, J. P. Morgan

Words: 868
Pages: 4

In the age of revolutionizing human existence, four men made their way to the top through unscrupulous and ruthless business practices, setting records as the richest men in America. These industrialists started at the bottom, and climbed their way to first place through arguably unethical ways, venturing into the growing American economy and making names for themselves that will forever be remembered throughout history as “The men who built America”.

These men, known well as Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D, Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and J.P Morgan, all had easily recognizable traits in common: determination and fortitude. Vanderbilt, kin to Scottish immigrants that came from nothing, built his reputation as a merciless business man. With limited money, Vanderbilt was able to purchase a small ferry, that would soon grow to a fleet of ships, soon earning him the title as the richest man in
…show more content…
Vanderbilt’s mental ability to see ahead into American enterprise was the reason he was so prosperous. He gambled his entire company, and invested everything he owned in the railroads, which he correctly predicts would be one of America’s greatest innovations. By the end, he owned more rails than anyone else in the country, and yet again, saw potential in the oil industry, as he sees the demand growing, which brings America to rapid economic ascent with every kerosene sale. The baron who supplied oil to almost all railroads, owned 90% of american oil supply, and created the largest Corporate Industry in in American history, John D. Rockefeller, saw strength in himself to make one of the biggest power moves in American antiquity. After the railroads refuse to transport for him, knowing he would have nowhere to turn and would eventually run himself out of business unless he compromised, Rockefeller builds pipeline over 4,000 miles long over Ohio and Pennsylvania, never using the railroads