The era of the plutocrats - Essay Example

He was not merely a financier and a banker but a philanthropist and an art collector. He gained his education in both US and Germany. He was trained as an accountant at Sherman and Company and in 1867, was transferred to his father's banking company Drexel, Morgan and Company where he became a partner in 10 years. In 1895, the company was renamed as J. P. Morgan and became a world renowned banking house. He was responsible for arranging the merger between Edison General Electric and Thompson-Houson Electric Company.

The new company formed, General Electric came on to become the main electrical equipment manufacturing company in the country. He financed Federal Steel Company and merged it with Carnegie Steel Company which came on to become United States Steel Corporation. With the help of his network in London, he was able to attract British investment for growing industrial corporations in the U.S. as he played a major role in attaining capital for companies. He became a member of the board of directors of many of these companies, most of which were rail road companies.

This meant that by 1902, Morgan had control over 8,000 km of railroads in America. To gain control over major corporations, he concentrated his efforts on acquiring control of several banks and insurance companies. He was at times criticized for his hunger for power and his urge for gaining control (Simkin, JP Morgan) Andrew Carnegie was born on November 25th, 1835, in Dunfermline, Scotland to a handloom weaver. The Carnegie family had to immigrate to the United States in 1848 because of the economic depression.

In America, Andrew began to work at the age of 12 at a local cotton factory while pursuing his education by attending night school. At 14, Andrew Carnegie took the job of messenger boy where his talent was duly noticed by the superintendent of the western division of the company, Thomas A. Scott. When during the Civil War Scott was made secretary, he took Carnegie along with him to Washington to work as his right-hand man. Organizing the military telegraph system was part of Carnegie’s job.

On becoming superintendent, Carnegie wisely invested in many promising ventures, one of which was Woodruff Sleeping Car Company and many other small iron mills and factories, the most important of which was the company which he owned a one-fifth share in: Keystone Bridge. Some of the major milestones he achieved include the opening of his steel furnace at Braddock, writing a series of books and articles through which he voiced his opinions that the rich should help the poor and a man that dies rich is disgraced.

He also set up a fund which finances 3,000 public libraries (380 in Britain), the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh, the Carnegie Institute of Technology and the Carnegie Institution of Washington. By the time of his death, he had donated $350,000,000 (Simkin, Andrew Carnegie). Born in New York in 1839, John Davidson Rockefeller at the young age of 16 became a clerk in a commission house. He wanted to work for himself and in 1850 by saving every penny he earned, he with an Englishman, Maurice Clark, opened his own company, Clark & Rockefeller Produce and Commission which sold farm implements, fertilizers and household goods.

He sold his successful business for the more lucrative business of refining crude oil and started a company called Standard Oil. He was able to minimize costs by setting up an exclusive deal