Description

Book Synopsis
John D Rockefeller. Cornelius Vanderbilt. Andrew Carnegie. John Jacob Astor. Henry Ford. Joseph P Kennedy. Even today, long after their deaths, the names of these six men continue to be associated with wealth and power. When they were alive, they dominated their worlds as few men had done before, and few have done since. These are the life stories of six of the richest men who ever lived in America. Their lives offer us windows into ways of life over two centuries that most of us can only imagine, and an opportunity to glimpse times when laws, attitudes, prejudices and opportunities were very different from today. Their achievements - financial, political and social - continue to affect us, for good or ill, to this day. Their mistakes still offer important lessons about the acquisition, use and abuse of wealth and power. And had they not lived, the history of America - and the world - might have been very different indeed.

Table of Contents
  • About the author. v
  • Contents. vii
  • List of illustrations. ix
  • Introduction.. 1
  • John Jacob Astor. 7
  • From Walldorf to New York. 7
  • The Fur Trade. 9
  • Astoria. 14
  • Manhattan Landlord. 21
  • Cornelius Vanderbilt.. 29
  • New York Harbour. 29
  • Gibbons v Ogden. 32
  • Uncle Daniel 35
  • To The Pacific. 39
  • Railroads and Corners. 41
  • The Erie Railroad Wars. 47
  • Andrew Carnegie.. 61
  • The Bobbin Boy. 61
  • Telegraphs and Railroads. 66
  • The Budding Capitalist 70
  • The Civil War and After. 73
  • The Panic of 1873. 82
  • The Industrialist 88
  • The Homestead Strike and its Aftermath. 96
  • Carnegie Steel 100
  • Skibo Castle and the Gospel of Wealth. 102
  • The Departure of Frick. 105
  • The Years of Philanthropy. 109
  • The Advocate of Peace. 113
  • The First World War and After. 115
  • John D Rockefeller.. 119
  • The Young Rockefeller. 119
  • The Oil Regions. 124
  • Henry Flagler and the Creation of Standard Oil 128
  • The Dissolution of Standard Oil 141
  • Rockefeller’s Philanthropies. 144
  • Henry Ford. 151
  • The Young Mechanic. 151
  • The First Cars. 157
  • The Ford Motor Company and the Model T. 161
  • The Peace Ship and the War. 173
  • The Dearborn Independent 181
  • Evangeline. 185
  • Changes. 186
  • The Last Years. 196
  • Joseph P Kennedy.. 203
  • Early Days in Boston. 203
  • Marriage and Money. 207
  • Wall Street and the New Deal 212
  • Ambassador to the Court of St James. 217
  • The War Years. 222
  • Politics and Tragedies. 231
  • Select Bibliography. 239
  • Index. 241

Six Tycoons: Lives of John Astor, Vanderbilt,

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A Hardback by Wyn Derbyshire

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    View other formats and editions of Six Tycoons: Lives of John Astor, Vanderbilt, by Wyn Derbyshire

    Publisher: Spiramus Press
    Publication Date: 01/10/2008
    ISBN13: 9781904905844, 978-1904905844
    ISBN10: 1904905846
    Also in:
    Biography Biography: business and industry Business, Finance & Law Business and Management

    Description

    Book Synopsis
    John D Rockefeller. Cornelius Vanderbilt. Andrew Carnegie. John Jacob Astor. Henry Ford. Joseph P Kennedy. Even today, long after their deaths, the names of these six men continue to be associated with wealth and power. When they were alive, they dominated their worlds as few men had done before, and few have done since. These are the life stories of six of the richest men who ever lived in America. Their lives offer us windows into ways of life over two centuries that most of us can only imagine, and an opportunity to glimpse times when laws, attitudes, prejudices and opportunities were very different from today. Their achievements - financial, political and social - continue to affect us, for good or ill, to this day. Their mistakes still offer important lessons about the acquisition, use and abuse of wealth and power. And had they not lived, the history of America - and the world - might have been very different indeed.

    Table of Contents
    • About the author. v
    • Contents. vii
    • List of illustrations. ix
    • Introduction.. 1
    • John Jacob Astor. 7
    • From Walldorf to New York. 7
    • The Fur Trade. 9
    • Astoria. 14
    • Manhattan Landlord. 21
    • Cornelius Vanderbilt.. 29
    • New York Harbour. 29
    • Gibbons v Ogden. 32
    • Uncle Daniel 35
    • To The Pacific. 39
    • Railroads and Corners. 41
    • The Erie Railroad Wars. 47
    • Andrew Carnegie.. 61
    • The Bobbin Boy. 61
    • Telegraphs and Railroads. 66
    • The Budding Capitalist 70
    • The Civil War and After. 73
    • The Panic of 1873. 82
    • The Industrialist 88
    • The Homestead Strike and its Aftermath. 96
    • Carnegie Steel 100
    • Skibo Castle and the Gospel of Wealth. 102
    • The Departure of Frick. 105
    • The Years of Philanthropy. 109
    • The Advocate of Peace. 113
    • The First World War and After. 115
    • John D Rockefeller.. 119
    • The Young Rockefeller. 119
    • The Oil Regions. 124
    • Henry Flagler and the Creation of Standard Oil 128
    • The Dissolution of Standard Oil 141
    • Rockefeller’s Philanthropies. 144
    • Henry Ford. 151
    • The Young Mechanic. 151
    • The First Cars. 157
    • The Ford Motor Company and the Model T. 161
    • The Peace Ship and the War. 173
    • The Dearborn Independent 181
    • Evangeline. 185
    • Changes. 186
    • The Last Years. 196
    • Joseph P Kennedy.. 203
    • Early Days in Boston. 203
    • Marriage and Money. 207
    • Wall Street and the New Deal 212
    • Ambassador to the Court of St James. 217
    • The War Years. 222
    • Politics and Tragedies. 231
    • Select Bibliography. 239
    • Index. 241

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