This documentary chronicles the life and career of J. Pierpont Morgan, a prominent American financier who significantly impacted the nation's economy during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The video details Morgan's rise from a relatively humble beginning to becoming one of the most powerful figures on Wall Street, highlighting his key business strategies, personal life, and controversies.
Morgan’s first job in the States was a clerk at a Wall Street bank.
He showed great aptitude for mathematics.
To provide capital for growing U.S. businesses, Morgan sought capital from investors from Europe.
Vanderbilt hired Morgan to sell 250,000 shares in the New York Central Railway without rattling the market.
Morgan’s compensation for selling those shares was a seat on the New York Central's Board of Directors.
Morgan became known as one who could clean up business messes. When two competing railroads were about to collapse, Morgan arranged a meeting with them on his yacht called the Corsair.
In 1893, the railroad industry saw hundreds of bankruptcies.
Morgan’s ability to streamline operations and then gain control of troubled companies was called reorganization.
Morgan’s interests were not limited to business. He also had the world’s greatest collection of art.
In 1893, with the country in a depression, Morgan convinced the President to permit the Treasury to buy gold.
The largest business transaction in history was Morgan’s purchase of Carnegie Steel, which was later renamed United States Steel Corporation.
In the railroad industry did Morgan merge two companies that President Theodore Roosevelt challenged as giving Morgan too much control.
The President claimed that Morgan violated the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890.
To help him relax, Morgan would play his favorite game called solitaire.
Morgan rescued the U.S. government and Treasury often. He was called a “One Man Central Bank”. Recognizing that Morgan would not be available indefinitely, the government created the Federal Reserve Board.
Out of respect for Morgan, the New York Stock Exchange closed during his funeral.
