Have you ever wonder about what really make USA become what it really is today, one of the greatest country in the world....
People with power, money who devoted their life.
United state was not a country until 1776, known as the North America today....
History of USA began with the settlement of indigenous people before 10,000 B.C, many cultures were formed. Christopher Columbus then arrived in 1492.
The men who actually built America empire and created development in technology.
In my blog today, i will be looking at one of the greatest men who built America empire, who is considered as one the richest icon till date ( CORNELIUS VANDERBILT also known as Commodore Vanderbilt)
Cornelius Vanderbilt was the fourth of nine children born in the Port Richmond on Staten Island in New York to a family of modest means. Born May 27th 1794.
He was a U.S entrepreneur who built his wealth in shipping and railroads and is the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family.
His great -great grandfather, Jan Aertson was a Dutch farmer from the village of De bilt in Utrecht, the Netherlands, who immigrated to New York as an indentured servant in 1650.
Aertson's village name was eventually added to the Dutch "Van der" (of the) to create " van der bilt" which was eventually condensed to VANDERBILT.
Cornelius was a famous industrialist. He accumulated the largest fortune in the U.S at the time of his death, in 1877. at the age of 11 Cornelius quit school to work with father ferrying cargo and passenger between Staten island and Manhattan, at 16 he ran a two-mast sailing vessel known as pariauger, the enterprise came with the part of sharing profits with his parents, who supplied a loan.though there was a lot of competitions.
Commodore Vanderbilt competed on the basis of lower fares asking as little as 18cents per trip. He was quiet successful and apparently was able to repay the $100 loan to his parents within one year. According to a local lore, he was able to earn $1000 for his parents during the first year of operations as part of the their share in the profits.
The war In 1812 provided him an to opportunity to grow. The forts in New York expanded and Vanderbilt obtained a government contract to supply them. In 1814 and 1818 he expanded with additional schooners for freight and passenger services I Long Island sound and in the coastal trade from New England to Charleston South Carolina.
Apparently on his way to fame and fortune, 1818 Vanderbilt sold all his interests and turned his attention to steamboats. He entered the employ of Thomas Gibbons, who operated a ferry between New Brunswick, NJ and New York city. Working $1000 a year . Vanderbilt made the line profitable despite opposition from Fulton and Livingston.
By 1829 Vanderbilt was on his own, over the protest of his wife and Gibbons, who offered to doubled $2000 salary and sell him half the lime. Vanderbilt moved his family with about 13 children to New York city with well $30,000 that made him entered competitive service between New York.
During the next decade, Vanderbilt gained control of the traffic on the Hudson River by cutting fares and offering unprecedented luxury on his ships. His hard-pressed competitors finally paid him handsomely in return for Vanderbilt’s agreement to move his operation. He then concentrated on the northeastern seaboard, offering transportation from Long Island to Providence and Boston. By 1846 the Commodore was a millionaire.
Images sources
https://www.google.com.ng/search?q=cornelius+vanderbilt+industry&client=ms-alps-full_pri6750_66t_m-ng&prmd=inv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjcjsOW8c7ZAhWD16QKHXkhCnkQ_AUIESgB&biw=360&bih=512#imgrc=EGJqkCGsY9c5iM:
The following year, he formed a company to transport passengers and goods from New York City and New Orleans to San Francisco via Nicaragua. With the enormous demand for passage to the West Coast brought about by the 1849 gold rush, Vanderbilt’s Accessory Transit Company proved a huge success. He quit the business only after his competitors—whom he had nearly ruined—agreed to pay him $40,000 (later it rose to $56,000) a month to abandon his operation.
Commodore Vanderbilt dabbled in the Atlantic carrying trade in the 1850s and attained a strong position but, nearing the age of 70, decided once again that the wave of the future was in another direction—the railroad. He first acquired the New York and Harlem Railroad, in the process again defeating Daniel Drew. Vanderbilt made his son, William H., the vice president, largely on the basis of prior railroad experience. The Vanderbilts next acquired control of the rundown Hudson River Railroad, which Cornelius wanted to consolidate with the Harlem. Again Drew attempted to sell the stock short, defeat the consolidation, and make a substantial profit. But, as before, the Commodore won the battle by buying every share Drew and his cohorts sold, thereby stabilizing the price.
Vanderbilt then acquired the Central Railroad (1867), merged it with the Hudson River Railroad, and leased the Harlem to the new company. After these acquisitions, Vanderbilt spent large sums of money improving the lines' efficiency and then watered the stock and paid large dividends. In the first 5 years he is said to have cleared $25 million.
The Commodore finally hit a snag in 1867, when he attempted to gain control of the Erie Railroad, then in the hands of his old adversary, Daniel Drew. Again Vanderbilt bought all the stock offered for sale, but this time, Drew, Jay Gould, and James Fisk threw 100, 000 shares of fraudulent stock on the market, which the Commodore continued to buy.
The trio fled to Jersey City after warrants for their arrest were issued. Vanderbilt, tottering on the brink of failure, fought back. Although the illegal stock was finally authorized by the legislature, the trio surrendered in order to return to New York. Vanderbilt lost between $1 million and $2 million and forgot the Erie. The Vanderbilts extended their lines to Chicago by acquiring the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern railroads, the Canadian Southern, and the Michigan Central.
The Commodore's first wife died in 1868, and the next year he remarried. He was never known for philanthropic activities, his only unsolicited contributions being $50, 000 for the Church of the Strangers in New York City and $1 million to Central University, which then became Vanderbilt University. He died on Jan. 4, 1877.