“Just think, he was not even a rich man ", - said John D. Rockefeller, finding out, that after his death, Morgan left a fortune about $80 million. Rockefeller at the time had 10 more than once more. Half of Morgan's funds were invested in art - John Pierpont was a passionate collector.
JP Morgan Chase with capitalization $455 billion is currently one of the largest US banks and the second largest bank in the world, second only to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. The company bears the name of the founder, John Pierpont Morgan - J.P., as he was called in childhood.
Jingle Bells and Monopoly
John was born in 1837 G. in Connecticut in a comfortable family. Among his relatives were the founder of the Yale Institute James Pierpont and the author of musical works James L.. Pierpont - by the way, author of the famous song Jingle Bells.
John's father, Junius Spencer Morgan was a successful partner in an English banking company. At one point, he brought home a million dollars in cash and asked his little son to read it - he counted, that the heir must get used to handling large funds. The upbringing was successful: John, educated in Europe, followed in the footsteps of his father and eclipsed him, becoming the iconic emblem of American capitalism. A fat old man with a mustache and a top hat on the cover of the game "Monopoly" - "Wealthy Uncle Pennybags", aka Mister Monopoly, - inspired by the image of J.P.. Morgana.
From accountant to millionaire
Morgan was not a self-made millionaire and never denied, that connections with the European monetary world and the "approval of father's friends" played a role in his success. But without extraordinary opportunities, Morgan would not have made one of the most influential companies in the world.. Starting as a moderate accountant in a New York organization, in less than 10 years he has already reached the status of a partner in another company, and in 1871 G. became a partner of Drexel, Morgan and Company - it underwent a reorganization into the world-famous JP Morgan and Company in 1895 G.
IN 2000 G. JP Morgan & Co. merges with The Chase Manhattan Corporation - thus the company was formed, which we know now: JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Let there be light
30-second "pitch in the elevator", which startups invented in the 21st century, Wouldn't work with Morgan. He took decisions about business proposals even faster., and could not stand long discussions. used to, that he showed guests out of the office almost after a few seconds - friends joked, that his 2nd name is "Yes Or No".
Business flair did not fail: meeting Thomas Edison, Morgan instantly realized, what is the future of electricity. Father answered, but John Pierpont invested substantial funds in Edison's company and provided his own home for tests. The Morgan House became the first private residence in New York, which is illuminated with electrical energy. Soon, Edison's company - the base for the coming giant General Electric - built a power station and brought electricity to half of Manhattan..
Rails-rails, шпалы-шпаly
Morgan's next "infrastructure plan" - consolidation railway sphere, which at the end 19 has experienced erratic rapid growth and solid competition with tariff wars for centuries. Morgan evenly gained control of about 6th of all US steel roads: entered the board of directors, financed new debtors, connected rivals, stabilized rates.
Steel needed to build new steel roads and trains: and Morgan took again, connected together, introduced uniform standards - and ultimately made US Steel, the world's first industrial corporation with billions of dollars in turnover.
Insurance industry organizations, banks, connection, coal mines and shipping companies - Morgan was interested in all areas of business. He was a member of the boards of directors 48 companies.
Lifeguard or robber baron
With great power comes great responsibility - Morgan's economic impact was so enormous, that several times with his own hands he delayed the state from falling into the abyss of monetary crises. IN 1895 G. he organized a bank syndicate, you sold?? municipal bonds for gold and thus replenished the government's gold supply by more than $60 million.
IN 1907 G. Morgan put out the panic on Wall Street: bringing together leading economists of the state, he assured them to join forces, to normalize the market. Their deeds became the prototype of the work FED, which arose only after the death of Morgan: experts analyzed financial institutions that were on the verge of ruin and decided, who to provide assistance.
This "personal central bank" worked great, but soon it turned out, that many people do not like the situation: big businessmen, and Morgan in particular, began to accuse, that they concentrate too much power in their hands and manipulate banks in their own interests, and industrial conglomerates. Morgan was summoned to testify before Congress, and the journalists came up with the word "morganization" - this is how the process was called "in his honor", when the capitalist creates a monopoly, eliminates competitors and maximizes profits by lowering wages and worsening working conditions for workers.
With the light hand of politician Williams Jennings Brian, another negative definition of tycoons came into circulation, who built financial empires - "robber barons". Morgan was one of them, being in good company: also called John Rockefeller, Leland Stanford and others.
Morgan Museum and Morganite
What Morgan thought about his reputation, not known for certain. John Pierpont didn't like being in the spotlight, avoided public speaking and talking to journalists and hated, when he was photographed without permission - he was ashamed of his nose, increased in size due to a rare disease. All "official" photos of Morgan were retouched. Morgan burned most of his personal letters, and the speculations of biographers are based on rumors and legends - they say, as a child, J.P. was so withdrawn and lonely, talking to an imaginary canary.
You can say for sure, that Morgan was not a human, for whom money is an end in itself. He invested a lot, but also spent astronomically a lot - including, for charity and art. Morgan acquired painting, porcelain, Books and a variety of exhibits, his personal collection was compared to the royal. A significant part of his collection was added to the exposition of the New York Metropolitan Museum, the other part became the Morgan Library and Museum.
"No price is too high for a work of undeniable beauty and known authenticity".
Another passion of Morgan was precious stones - two collections were donated to the American Museum of Natural History in New York.: Morgan-Tiffany and Morgan-Bement. Tiffany's chief gemologist, George Frederic Kunz, was so delighted with his best client, what named after him purple-pink beryl, found in Madagascar - morganite.
Titanic ticket
One of the luxurious cabins on the Titanic remained empty - for John Pierpont Morgan, shipping corporation owner, which owned the ship, a place was booked, but sudden health problems forced him to stay at home. The crash of the giant liner in 1912 G. shocked the whole world and Morgan himself, who said: “Monetary losses mean nothing to life. The loss of life is important. This is a terrible death ".
Death overtook him a year later, but was quiet: 75-summer morgan died in his sleep, in a hotel in Rome. On the day of his funeral, the New York Stock Exchange was closed until noon - previously such a sign of respect was shown to the deceased heads of state..
After John Pierpont's death, the company was headed by his son Jack. And the grandson, Harry, subsequently founded the Morgan Stanley bank.
JP Morgan Chase Increases First Quarter Net Income 5 once, revenue exceeded forecast.
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