Wealth, power, and influence. J.P Morgan had it all.
He owned the first billion-dollar company. He dominated the country’s most
profitable industries. And on multiple occasions,
the economy of The United States quite literally depended on the actions of J.P. Morgan.
With a simple word or the stroke of a pen, he could save a company
from collapse or doom it to bankruptcy. Hated by some, admired by others - there will
never be another man quite like JP Morgan. This is his story.
John Pierpont Morgan was born in Connecticut in 1837 into privileged circumstances. John’s father,
Junius Spencer Morgan, was already a wealthy banker, and he ensured that John had the best
education that money could buy, since he wanted John to follow in his footsteps as a financier.
However, despite being born into wealth, John’s childhood was bleak. He was a sickly child. He
regularly suffered from brutal coughing fits, migraines, seizures, and various diseases
such as scarlet fever. His medical conditions meant he often couldn’t play outside with the
other kids. Instead, you’d find him inside studying or reading financial statements.
In fact at one point John became incapacitated by rheumatic fever - and his father’s solution
was to send John to live by himself in the Azore islands in the middle of the Atlantic
Ocean. His dad believed the climate and salty air would help John recover
from his condition. So John stayed on that island for nearly a year without any family,
and when he was finally well enough, he continued his education.
By 1857, John had studied in Boston, Switzerland, and Germany, and was now 19
years old and ready to enter the workforce. At this point, John’s father was a junior
partner at a London-based merchant banking firm called George Peabody & Co - and thanks
to his father, John was able to get a job on Wall Street at the banking firm which
looked after Peabody’s interests in America. Part of John’s job involved writing reports
to his father’s firm detailing the financial and political goings-on in America, which of
course at the time was still an emerging market. However, from an early age, John’s father feared
that his son was too rash and hot-tempered to ever become a successful financier, and that
he needed to learn restraint and responsibility. One example of this was in 1859, while on a trip
to New Orleans, John made a seemingly reckless gamble by using company money to purchase an
entire shipment of Brazilian coffee that arrived in port without a buyer. Even though John sold
it and made a tidy profit, the senior members of the banking house, including John’s own father,
couldn’t stand this kind of risk-taking. So in 1861, aged 24, John left the safety
and security of an established firm in order to strike out on his own,
founding his own company which continued to act as an agent for his father’s bank back in England.
It was also that year that John married his first love, a frail young woman named
Amelia Sturges. And for a brief period John was the happiest he’d ever been.
However Amelia soon came down with a persistent cough that was later diagnosed as tuberculosis.
So right after their wedding, John took her on an extended honeymoon in the Mediterranean,
hoping that the new climate might restore her strength just like John’s father had tried for
him when he was younger - but it was no use. John’s wife died just four months after
their wedding, leaving John a widower at 24. Understandably, he was an inconsolable mess,
and it’s believed he never truly recovered from this tragic loss of his wife at such a young age.
Immediately after losing her, John threw himself deep into his work more than ever.
However whilst John was going through his own crisis,
so was the United States - around this time the American civil war had broken out,
and the 1863 conscription act should have meant John went off to fight - but he didn’t. Instead
John paid $300 to be removed from enlisting, and have a substitute stand in his place.
That's not to say John didn’t get involved in the war though - in fact on the contrary, he
profited from it hugely. One of the most notable examples was when he financed the purchase of
5,000 surplus hall carbine rifles at $3.50 each from the government that were considered
too old to use. But then the consortium who bought them made some minor adjustments and
almost immediately sold the same rifles back to the government for $22 each. It was an over
600% increase in price, and thus whilst it was a very lucrative deal for John to be involved in,
this war profiteering was certainly not popular with the public or the government.
But that was the least of his worries - John would soon be facing some much bigger controversies.
In 1871, John saw the golden opportunity to team up with one of the leading financiers
in the country; a banker named Anthony Drexel. Together, they founded the Drexel, Morgan & Co
private merchant banking house - which was later renamed to simply JP Morgan & Co, and this would
be the firm that John would manage for the rest of his life, serving as the precursor to the modern
banking titan we know today as JPMorgan Chase. Now, early in John’s career he’d mostly just
been a facilitator of deals - like connecting wealthy investors and visionaries together in
exchange for a cut of the profits. But as John amassed a bigger personal fortune and reputation,
he was able to finance many of these projects on his own. And John had already identified his first
major investment: the American railroad system. Now at the time most of the other big industries
were dominated by one single magnate - like Carnegie dominating in steel and Rockefeller
dominating in oil, but the railroads weren’t monopolized; actually it was the opposite - there
were so many competing companies that offered very similar routes that they often slashed
their prices to try and win customers. But whereas most looked at the railroad business
and saw fierce competition, John saw opportunity. He felt the answer was consolidation - merging
railroads together rather than competing. That’s because John knew that the bigger
a business got, the more it could benefit from economies of scale - so John’s goal was always
to turn multiple small companies into one unified conglomerate. Suddenly rather than
competing against each other and driving down prices, they could set whatever prices they
wanted as they owned all the nearby railroads. So John invested heavily in multiple railroads
which he began consolidating. He’d take over underfinanced railroad companies,
streamline their management and operational efficiency, and merge the small companies
together into one dominant player that could crush any remaining competitors - which of
course he’d then be able to take over as well. John used this tactic to such great effect
that it was even named after him, becoming known as “morganization.”
But the other thing John did differently to other businessmen and investors of the time,
was that he played a very proactive role in the corporate management of these companies.
John wasn’t content with simply buying shares, then sitting back and raking in
the profits. He was a man who craved control. John needed to be the one calling the shots,
so he regularly used his influential position on boards of directors to direct the company’s as
he saw fit. He often reshuffled the leaderships of all these different railway companies to his
liking and assembled them into monopolies - with himself at the head of the table,
of course. When railroads came to him for help, he’d refuse unless he was given full control.
This not only gave John the power he wanted, but also created a more stable industry, which in
turn, attracted even more investments. Money from Europe flowed into US railway companies now that
it looked more consolidated and stable thanks to John, and this of course made John even wealthier.
John kept acquiring more rail lines, and constantly wanted to outdo his previous
achievements and be more ambitious. For example he purchased 250,000
shares of stock from William Vanderbilt in one of the most prominent railways in the country - the
New York Central Railroad. He then took things even further the following year when he executed
“the largest transaction in railroad bonds ever made in the United States,” underwriting the
sale of $40 million in bonds to finance the completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad.
Before long, John owned one third of all railroads in America,
at a time where 60% of America’s stock market capitalization consisted of railroad companies.
In other words, John was no longer just a wealthy financier, he was literally
shaping railroad conglomerates and being heavily involved in reorganizations and mergers - all of
which grew his power and wealth further. And his growing reputation as a formidable
titan of industry was matched by his intimidating appearance.
John had a skin condition called rosacea that inflamed and ruptured the blood vessels of his
nose making it very red and disfigured, whilst he also had rhinophyma which made his nose much
larger and covered in pimples. John was actually very self conscious about his appearance and got
angry at being photographed. According to his grandson, whenever John had a portrait done he
always ordered them to redo his nose to make it look more normal, which is why it’s not as
noticeable in pictures of him. But his startling facial features combined with his towering height
and his aggressive way of speaking, all meant that John was an intimidating presence to be around.
However in 1901, it seemed John had finally met someone who would stand him up to him:
president Theador Roosevelt. You see, John had just consolidated his Northern Pacific Railroad
together with two other railways in the region and created a massive new holding company called
the Northern Securities Corporation. And he’d been able to get away with these kind of monopolistic
practices due to his close relationship with the current president, William McKinley. But
then McKinley was assassinated, and suddenly Theodore Roosevelt became president who took
a very different view on what John was doing. Roosevelt ordered the Justice Department to
file a suit against the company for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. Whilst John
fought this in court, the company was ultimately split up. And this was just the beginning of a
very tense relationship between the two men. When John heard Roosevelt was going to Africa one year,
John said: “good, I hope the first lion that meets him does his duty”.
For John though, this was merely a small setback. He was already planning something much crazier.
In 1901 Carnegie Steel was at its peak. It dominated the steel industry and was one of
the most valuable companies in the country. But despite it netting $40 million a year,
Carnegie was ready to retire, and wanted to sell his company. But who could buy it?
That’s where John came in. He basically told Carnegie to name his price and he did - $480
million dollars, which would be more than any other business deal in history. And yet John
agreed on the spot - and later confessed that he would have paid $100 million more.
John made the landmark purchase in 1901, but that was just the beginning of his
ambitious plan. He merged Carnegie Steel with the Federal Steel Company and a few
other businesses to form U.S. Steel, the world’s first billion-dollar corporation,
which had a market cap of $1.4 billion dollars. Just to put that in perspective,
all the manufacturing in the country was capitalized at a combined $9 billion.
This deal gave John control over roughly two-thirds of the American steel production.
So basically 2 of the largest industries at the time were steel and railroads,
and John had seemingly conquered both. And he didn’t stop there.
John helped finance Thomas Edison’s early experiments with electricity. He then played an
important role in merging Edison electric with its competitors in order to create General Electric.
And John was also influential in creating what would later become AT&T.
John’s talents for combining companies together and turning
them into unstoppable giants was unmatched. But unfortunately, a crisis was about to begin.
In 1893, the United States was facing a depression the likes of which it had never seen before. After
several decades of continued growth and unchecked investments, the bubble burst, and the American
economy plunged into chaos. Stocks plummeted, losing almost half their value, thousands of
businesses closed their doors forever, hundreds of banks went bankrupt, and unemployment
rates skyrocketed throughout the country. The crisis scared off foreign investors,
who cashed in their American bonds in exchange for gold, slowly but surely
depleting the US reserves. Since, at the time, the dollar was still tied to the gold standard,
meaning anyone could convert their paper money into physical gold, and thus had more confidence
their paper money was actually worth something. As a result, the American government always kept
at least $100 million worth of gold bullion on hand to back the dollar. But by 1895, most of
that gold was gone and the dollar’s value was in a sharp decline. At its lowest, the government had
no more than $9 million worth of gold reserves, which meant that it was in danger of defaulting on
its loans at any moment. And of course, this run on gold just spread more panic, having a domino
effect where more investors pulled their money out of the US and depleted the reserves even further.
The US didn’t have a central bank at the time to rescue them, and the situation was extremely
dire. President Cleveland understood that this was a crossroads moment for America that would
forever alter its course. The traditional strategy of simply selling more bonds to
the American people wouldn’t work fast enough. John knew that this was the time for drastic
and immediate action, so he traveled to Washington to meet the president and lay
out his game plan in order to bring America back from the brink of an economic disaster.
John’s audacious scheme was to form a private syndicate consisting of the most prominent
bankers in the country who would work together with foreign investors to shore up America’s
gold reserves. His syndicate offered to purchase $65 million worth of 30-year gold bonds using 3.5
million ounces of gold. Thanks to an old Civil War statute, President Cleveland could agree
to the deal right then and there without having to wait for approval from Congress.
Once Cleveland signed the agreement, John wired his men in New York and told them to act and,
in only 22 minutes, they bought out all the gold bonds. John’s decisive actions had an immediate
calming effect on the volatile financial market and restored faith in the economy.
John had almost single handedly saved them from total collapse. And, of course,
being the shrewd businessman that he was, he had also made a large profit
from the enterprise by securing generous rates on the gold bonds that he purchased.
And thus whilst John had saved the day and helped bail out the government, it also raised concerns.
It illustrated the vast influence and power of one single banker on the entire US economy. And
some asked whether his motivations were really patriotic, or simply opportunistic to line his
own pockets. At the next election the relationship between big banks and the government was a hot
topic for the Democrats - but John and his banker friends donated heavily to the Republic nominee
who won the election instead. So for now, John kept his close ties to the government.
But this was not the only time that John was instrumental in stabilizing the American
economy. In 1907, the country was facing another deepening financial crisis which led to several
banks being on the verge of bankruptcy, leading to hordes of people queuing up around the block
to withdraw their money from their bank accounts. The government reportedly had to tell bank tellers
to deliberately count the money slower to try and reduce the rate cash was being withdrawn.
Because if everyone pulled their money out at the same time, it could be catastrophic.
By this point, Roosevelt was the president, and as we already know, he certainly did not see eye
to eye with John on most things. But the crisis of 1907 was so dire that they both agreed it would be
in America’s best interest if the government and big business worked together to save the country
from falling into a depression. So Roosevelt called on JP Morgan to salvage the situation.
Once again, John’s strategy was to spend a lot of money where it was needed most. He summoned
dozens of the leading financiers and leaders of the nation’s biggest banks and trusts to join him
in his private library on Madison Avenue, and decide on the best course of action.
John’s plan was essentially for them to invest in their smaller competitors. John concluded that,
although some banks would inevitably fall, others could still be saved, so he and his associates
deposited giant sums of money in a number of banks so that they would be able to pay their
depositors and avoid declaring bankruptcy. After revealing his plan, John then locked
the door while the bankers negotiated amongst themselves, literally locking
them in until they agreed on a resolution. By the morning, everyone had agreed with
John’s plan. And with Roosevelt’s approval, the U.S. Treasury also contributed $25 million,
showing the level of trust and respect the president had for John’s business sense.
What’s remarkable is that John was 70 years old at this point, and negotiated
all of this whilst having a terrible cold - meaning he was constantly coughing and
sneezing whilst saving the US economy. But his plan ultimately worked - lots of
capital was injected back into the economy, public confidence was restored in America’s banking
system, and yet another economic disaster was averted thanks to John’s wheelings and dealings.
But whilst he was once again briefly labeled as a hero, almost immediately people again began
to realize just how dependent they had become on one single man. Something needed to change.
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John was facing increased scrutiny. The age of the robber baron who could conduct his
business unchecked and unimpeded was slowly coming to an end, as the American public was
growing increasingly weary of a handful of businessmen wielding so much power and
influence. John was summoned to testify before the Pujo Committee, that wanted to investigate
the true reach of Wall Street’s “money trust” and its role in the American economy.
John was front and center during the Pujo committee hearings, and he became
the face of Wall Street power. Despite his financial success,
John’s mental state was deteriorating. He had multiple nervous breakdowns and he struggled to
deal with the public’s negative portrayal of him in the media. Ironically he was actually due to
board the Titanic for its maiden voyage, but due to health issues pulled out at the last moment.
Meanwhile the Pujo committee paved the way for the establishment of the federal reserve,
since it was clear they couldn’t just rely on a handful of ultra rich and powerful
individuals to step in and fix the economy. But John would never see the repercussions
of this investigation. Because months later, on March 31st, 1913, the 75-year-old
financier died while on vacation in Rome. After his death, John’s son took over the
business and continued its expansion. In fact even in present day, there are still
concerns the bank is too powerful - it’s undergone countless acquisitions and mergers over the years,
something John himself would’ve been proud of - like mergers with bank 1, bear sterns,
and most notably of all in the year 2000 the merger with Chase bank to create JP Morgan
chase. With an estimated $3 trillion in assets after 200 years of consolidation in the banking
industry, JP Morgan chase is the biggest bank in the world by market capitalization. And so
whilst opinion will be divided on John Pierpont Morgan, there’s no doubt his legacy lives on.
But personally when it comes to the era of these industrialists,
my favorite story is Cornelius Vanderbilt. Honestly there was nobody quite like him,
and so if you don’t know his story yet, you’ve gotta check out this video right
here to see his brutal rise to the top. I’ll see you there in a second. Cheers.