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Captains of Industry

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Robber Barons?

Sundry 7

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Discussion

Do Billionaires have the responsibility to help the poor?

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Do Millionaires?

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Today’s Richest

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World%27s_Billionaires

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Name

Net Worth

Country

Industry

Mansa Musa

400 B

Mali

Emperor/Gold

John D. Rockefeller

340 B

USA

Oil

Andrew Carnegie

310 B

USA

Steel

Nikolai Romanov

300 B

Russia

Tsar

Mir Osman Ali Khan

230 B

India

Ruler

Jakob Fugger

221 B

Germany

Merchant/Banking

William the Conqueror

210 B

England

King

Muammar Gaddafi

200 B

Libya

Ruler

Henry Ford

199 B

USA

Automobile

Cornelius Vanderbilt

185 B

USA

Railroads/Shipping

ALL-TIME RICHEST PEOPLE

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John D. Rockefeller (1839 - 1937)

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http://www.biography.com/people/john-d-rockefeller-20710159

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John D. Rockefeller - Oil

  • Standard Oil
    • 95% of oil business

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  • Hardwork and patience

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  • Spent profits on improving the company

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Rockefeller’s Business Tactics

  • Make deals with railroads (cheaper shipping)
  • Bribes
  • Industrial spying
  • Low wages
  • Low prices - forced out competitors
  • Modernized factories

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Rockefeller’s Business Tactics

  • Horizontal Integration - 95% of oil industry

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  • Standard Oil Trust - partnerships with railroads

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  • Demanded rebates and kickbacks from other companies

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Andrew Carnegie (1835 - 1919)

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http://www.biography.com/people/andrew-carnegie-9238756

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Andrew Carnegie - Steel

  • Carnegie Steel Co.
    • 80% of all U.S. steel
  • Son of Irish Immigrant
  • Pittsburgh, PA
  • Brings Bessimer Steel Process to U.S.
  • Sells company for $450 million

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Andrew Carnegie Business Tactics

  • Vertical Integration
    • bought companies in each step of steel process
  • Horizontal Integration
    • bought up all steel competitors
  • Searched for cheapest ways to make products

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Andrew Carnegie Business Tactics

  • Incorporated new techniques and technology to improve quality of product

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  • Hired most talented workers

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  • Offered stock to workers

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  • Encouraged competition between workers

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J.P. Morgan (1837 - 1913)

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http://www.biography.com/people/jp-morgan-9414735

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J.P. Morgan - Banking

  • Born into a wealthy family
  • Made fortune by financing troubled railroads and selling their stock
  • Financed all major industries
  • Bought Carnegie Steel for $450 million
    • U.S. Steel became first billion dollar company

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J.P. Morgan Business Tactics

  • Hated competition - bought up all competitors
  • Formed giant trusts and monopolies
    • felt competition was bad for U.S. economy
  • Would sell stocks for railroad companies that were about to go bankrupt

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Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794 - 1877)

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http://www.biography.com/people/cornelius-vanderbilt-9515195

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Cornelius Vanderbilt

  • Shipping Tycoon
    • bought first steam ship for $100
  • Millionaire by 1846
  • Nicknamed the “Commodore”
  • Bought and connected railroad companies
  • Biltmore House
  • $100,000,000
    • $95,000,000 to son
    • $500,000 to each of 8 daughters

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Cornelius Vanderbilt Business Tactics

  • First to connect railroad from NYC to Chicago

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  • Bought smaller train companies

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  • Bought up all the railroad track in the West

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Justifications for Extreme Wealth

Social Darwinism

  • survival of the fittest
  • those who are rich are more fit to lead

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Gospel of Wealth - Andrew Carnegie

  • God gave money to the most capable people
  • It is the duty of the wealthy to give money to the poor

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Anti-Trust Movement

Sherman Anti-Trust Act

  • outlawed trusts and monopolies
  • split Standard Oil into 34 different companies

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st3_8LEQvck