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By 1883, Gould had become the dominant owner of, or controlling shareholder in, or chief executive of, literally dozens of railroads, some of them only for brief periods of time. The blur of activity sent shock waves of alarm through competitors even as it delighted stock traders, many of whom grew wealthy divining what Gould was up to and
... See moreCharles R. Morris • The Tycoons: How Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and J. P. Morgan Invented the American Supereconomy
When Clark died after a short illness in the spring of 1873, his brokers liquidated his UP holdings, causing a sharp price drop. Gould’s broker snapped it up, and Gould unexpectedly found himself in a control position. It was only at that point, he said, that he learned that the road had serious problems, including $5 million in unsecured call debt
... See moreCharles R. Morris • The Tycoons: How Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and J. P. Morgan Invented the American Supereconomy
Morgan was among the first generation of bankers whose clients were primarily private corporations instead of governments, but there were substantial continuities in approach. His mediations among the railroad barons were very much in the tradition of the supranational financial/diplomatic service operated by the Rothschilds and the Barings in
... See moreCharles R. Morris • The Tycoons: How Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and J. P. Morgan Invented the American Supereconomy
August 1876, and Walker died two months later. He was seventy-seven years old. The cause of death, says Bil Gilbert, was nothing more or less than ‘having lived long enough’. How to distil that life into six lines, containing
Richard Grant • Ghost Riders: Travels with American Nomads
On January 18 the West brothers agreed to sell their option to her for $17,500 “subject to the approval of the FCC.” On January 23, 1943, Mrs. Johnson filed an application (filled out by Wirtz), asking the FCC’s consent to a transfer of control of KTBC from the old owners to her. On February 16, the Secretary of the FCC wrote, “The consent of the
... See moreRobert A. Caro • Means of Ascent: The Years of Lyndon Johnson II
Most of this trail, like so many others first ‘discovered’ by Joe Walker (or, more accurately, pieced together from existing Indian trails), is now a state highway.
Richard Grant • Ghost Riders: Travels with American Nomads
Stephens was the president of the railroad, which was a wholly American-owned stock company with its main office in the old Tontine Building on Wall Street. The capitalization was a million dollars.
David McCullough • Brave Companions
Geographical curiosity and his abiding love for wilderness travel seem to have been the main reasons for these journeys, but he usually managed to find some practical, economic rationale: a railroad survey, a party of miners that wanted to be guided to some remote mountain range, a potential livestock market that called for investigation. In 1858
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