As a people, Americans have a complicated history. Our remarkable republic is unafraid of controversy and tragedy, but has compassion and an abiding faith in humanity. Officially, that is our nation's creed and mantra. Politically and commercially, we seem like savage hypocrites. In my opinion, that's because of one man. He lived a century ago. Yet, his quickly-amassed wealth and power cast a shadow of oppression upon our citizenry ever since, and that shadow has grown stronger.
As Fate had it, he lived in the most historically corrupt city in America: New York City. It has been financially, politically and socially corrupt since its creation by the British (from the Dutch). Even during the American Revolution, its politicians and military were self-centered and unhelpful to the rest of the colonies. As a major port, trading post, and capital of businesses, it is renown for fleecing money from people. High costs of living have always "saddled" residents. Ineffectual government always lived there. The man's legacy ensured the continuation of all of that, and it created a breeding ground for more dishonest enterprises to sprout up.
Yes, all of it was built on the backs of human labor (America always cheers nostalgically about that)...
But, our tax-paid (business-bribed) gov't practically ensured that its own taxpayers never had their fair share, nor allowed their lives to improve too much (as compared to other nations).
The behavior of America's most powerful financier is still emulated and mimicked by later generations on Wall Street.
Some historians believe that he arranged the murder of his own father in 1890 (during a carriage accident while abroad in Monaco), in order to "take the reins" of the family banking firm (because his father was reticent to engage in such practices). Thus, he inherited a financial fiefdom that his grandfather created, which spanned the Atlantic Ocean: offices in London & NY.
Being in sole command of his company, he is believed to have partnered with European expertise (also located in London) and became the "point man" for American greedy expansion.
During the Civil War, he speculated on commodities and gold. When railroads began crisscrossing America, he underwrote their stock issues... and took seats on their Board of Directors as payment. Thus, his "insider" position gave him unfair advantage of proprietary information and "insider trading".
Getting fed up with competing railroad feuds--and their wasteful disruptions to commerce--he decided to consolidate them. Americans have the ineffective Amtrak to thank him for.
Controlling America's stock market, investment houses and brokerage firms gives awesome, mighty power!
In 1891, the kingpin financier formed, presided over, and built his own private male-only club, so he could "wheel & deal" in privacy amongst his own chosen associates. He built the Metropolitan Club on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 60th Street, one block above the demarcation line of the Upper East Side. William K. Vanderbilt was a founder (and co-founder of Jekyll Island Club) and managed the decline of his family fortune until his death in 1920 in Paris. Early members included bankers, diplomats, merchants, industrialists, navy admirals, Secretary of the Navy, aviators, presidential speechwriters, real estate developers, newspaper publishers, explorers, lawyers and American presidents. The land where the clubhouse sits was bought from the Duchess of Marlborough (more on that later).
One thing can be said about the kingpin's power: his buildings always remain (while nearly every other Gilded Age mansion and clubhouse gets demolished).
Speaking of which, the most-famous is his office at 23 Wall Street. Built in 1913, it looks modest, but don't be fooled. It's actually a testament to its creator's wealth that the building is so short--resisting the immense real estate value of building upward (air rights) on that corner property!
Also of note is his Library, built just for his collection of historic and rare books. Built in 1903 by McKim, Mead & White, it is between Park Avenue and Madison Avenue on 36th Street. It was near the house he built for his daughter... and near his own brownstone home (one of many homes) around the corner on Madison Ave (built in 1880 and torn down in 1928 to expand the library). The brownstone next to it was bought by the kingpin in 1904 for his son. The Harvard-educated son lived there until his death (stroke) in 1943, at the age of 75. The library's lions were replicated later for the NY Public Library's on Fifth Avenue.
Being able to cause Financial Panics was a way of scaring politicians and citizens into obeying him--or needing his help. The Panic of 1893 lasted for 18 months! The US Treasury nearly collapsed, as investors pulled out their gold. Paper currency might be worthless. However, the crisis barely hurt the kingpin. Net profits at his private bank were 5 times larger than America's largest commercial bank, and they grew steadily. He used his position to tame the railroad industry. He bought bankrupt railroads, filled their boards with his own "Yes Men", and "ganged up" against other railroads.
His strategy involved using impersonal managers--without direct stakes in their corporations--to get a global view on what was best for the "bigger picture".
As the financial panic continued into 1895, the kingpin's office near the New York Treasury let him see how much gold was being returned to frightened European investors. Also, as citizens distrusted their paper currency and sought gold, it depleted the treasury further.
Investors obeyed and relied on the kingpin's words more than politicians'. Using an outmoded law from the Civil War era, the kingpin coerced the president to accept his loan (from his own syndicate) without Congressional approval.
Without a central banking authority, the kingpin of Wall Street became the nation's biggest lender. (Just like England's biggest lender helped Queen Victoria maintain the Suez Canal--the lifeline to the rest of the empire). Thus, he was more powerful than the American president... even before the turn-of-the-century. [In 1903, the kingpin would help his next "puppet", President Teddy Roosevelt, build the Panama Canal].
President Grover Cleveland was under duress to deal with the kingpin. Experts couldn't say what precipitated the panic or what was causing it to persist. It seemed artificial. A magazine wrote, "In no civilized country in this century, not in the throes of war, has society been so disorganized as in the U.S. in 1894. Never was human life so cheap. Never did the constituted authorities appear so incompetent." (Does that sound familiar today? Has the kingpin's legacy endured?) The kingpin told the president to privately sell government bonds--via a Civil War statute that had never been repealed. Doubting the legality, the desperate president agreed, and the kingpin essentially bought a chunk of the federal system. Helping America stabilize put American govt agencies in debt to the kingpin. Congressional investigators couldn't make the kingpin reveal the profit he made on that transaction.
With such resources, he became the first-choice investor in all upcoming technologies of any worth. He financially backed Thomas Edison, who was notorious for hiring young geniuses from around the world and stealing their ideas. Thank to his powerful backer, Edison stole credit from Marconi and Tesla. In fact, Edison's backer tried to financially ruin Tesla's supporters: the Westinghouse corporation. A true genius, Tesla discovered alternating current, bio-electricity and bio-physics, neon, fluorescent lights, X-rays, radio waves, remote controls, fax capability, his Tesla coil... yet modestly refused the Nobel Prize. Even though Tesla's way of generating/transporting electricity was better (it won over Edison's for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair), Tesla didn't envision it being used to enslave humanity for profit. Thus, Tesla was "boxed out" of the arena.
Do you know how much profit is GUARANTEED by the modern-day Consolidated Edison power facilities of NYC? ConEd is the largest investor-owned energy companies in the United States: $13 billion in (declared) revenue, last year! Aside from NYC, it involves Con Edison Solutions, Con Edison Energy, Con Edison Development, Con Edison Transmission, and Con Edison Holding Company. In 1884, ConEd's predecessor was Consolidated Gas Company (six gas suppliers in NYC). In 1882, NY Steam Company provided service in lower Manhattan. Today, ConEd operates the largest commercial steam system in the world, from Battery Park to 96th Street! No wonder the largest city in America still uses antiquated steam heat via radiators and oil-burning boilers, instead of solar or wind or hydro power. In 1882, the Edison Illuminating Company was founded. By 1920, it was the leader in selling electricity to NYC. In 1936, they all incorporated as Consolidated Edison Company. By 2016, ConEd is the result of mergers, acquisitions and dissolutions of 170 electric companies. Such free enterprise, right? In 1998, NY State legalized the deregulation of the utility industry. (I'm sarcastically sure THAT was done by tax-paid officials for the good of the people). To give an instance of the company's attitude, behavior and wealth, in April 2016, it responded to a federal lawsuit, agreeing to give back $171 million due to harming its customers via its supervisors demanding $1 million in bribes for safety work that was never done. Yet, that $171 is only 1.5% of its annual revenue!
It's interesting how a corporation carries on the belief-structure of its originator. During the last century, can you imagine how much profit went into its founders' schemes?! It's a never-ending "cash cow" brining in tremendous wealth, more than power-hungry Robert Moses' toll bridges.
With all that power (literally), the kingpin initiated the General Electric Company, in 1892. That conglomerate also had Thomas Edison as a founder, until the kingpin removed him. Serving a worldwide market, it's famous for inefficient light bulbs, controlling NBC television, and manufacturing weapons, aircraft engines, locomotives, home appliances, and electric motors. It's products also include healthcare, gas, oil, and energy distribution. Along with IBM, it was one of the major computer companies of the 1960s. In 2004, it bought 80% of Universal Pictures. That same year, it finished the spin-off of its mortgage and life insurance companies to Genworth Financial. GE Capital Investments includes a credit card company. In 2010, GE bought $1.6 billion worth of credit card portfolios from Citigroup. That same year, it bought a British oil pipe maker for $1.3 billion. GE Plastics was sold to a Saudi company in 2008. In 2012, it bought $7 billion worth of bank deposits from MetLife. In 2014, it bid against Mitsubishi for $13 billion worth of French engineering group Alstom's global power division. That same year, it considered selling its Polish banking business. In 2015, it sold off assets to Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs (perhaps to help them). In 2011, it sold its Mexican business interests, and instead will focus in India.
Can you imagine how much the kingpin's other business ventures conjure up today?
Speaking of motors, in 1903, car maker Henry Ford sought the kingpin's help to produce FORD cars (known by owners as Fix Or Repair Daily). It was Fate's perfect timing because oil, steel, rubber tires, and engines were all industries that the kingpin was involved in! He and his friends got richer, as competitors and electric auto makers were "rubbed out"... all to the detriment of Americans were were eventually stuck with cars that drove as poorly as Soviet-made ones. With the kingpin's finances, Henry Ford was able to pay his workers twice as much as his competition. That simply guaranteed more Ford cars in the marketplace. Ford wasn't too bright and wasn't a threat to the kingpin, eventually creating a amusement park of the pre-engine America that he'd erased. Ford was anti-labor union, and he believed in underpaying overworked employees (and forcing them to live on company-owned compounds, buying food/supplies from company stores). That's probably why the kingpin and his cronies liked him.
Acquiring all that regulation-free money allowed him to carve up the world. When a budding presidential candidate named William Jennings Bryan wanted to dissolve corporate monopolies in 1896, the kingpin and his gang sought to "buy" the American presidential election. That election was marked by excesses of electioneering--setting new records: votes in Indiana sold for $400 in today's money. In the 1890s, the U.S. Senate was dubbed the "Millionaire's Club", due to its eager interest towards the wealthy... and its hostility to the American people. The kingpin and his cronies succeeded in paying for William McKinley to get into White House. But, he was assassinated, and they got McKinley's vice president: egocentric showman & fop Teddy Roosevelt.
Playing into his delusions of grandeur, the kingpin had the new president proceed with anti-trust regulation. Giving himself a "minor slap on the wrist" (for appearances), the kingpin used the regulations to destroy opponents and create advantages for his friends like Rockefeller. In fact, Rockefeller's Standard Oil empire became more profitable after its break-up from one piece into many pieces--still all pumping profits to its founder... and oozing globally.
Is it any wonder why this "first-world" nation still ignores more efficient fuels in favor of dirty oil? Is it any wonder that petroleum companies--and their siblings of cosmetics, paint, and pharmaceuticals--are the biggest polluters and price-gougers?
Roosevelt loved headlines and the thought of adventure, yet he was photographed with a sterling silver hunting knife from Tiffany's and custom military uniform from Brooks Brothers. He allowed America to rise up as a world power, anchoring American corporate greed wherever he stepped: Panama, China, Caribbean, Philippines, India, Africa, South America.
It worked to tip the scales of world power.
It could be why so many countries hate America today, and why the government--of that time--was so grateful to him.
Having read biographies of Andrew Carnegie, I can tell that he was a lucky wimp. Riding on the coattails of his early Pennsylvania Railroad boss, he was more than happy to swindle overseas investors on false investments to fleece them of money and raise capital for himself. An early investor in rail and telegraphs, Carnegie then became an early monopolistic investor in steel... just as America needed lots of it for its Industrial Revolution. Yet, he never had the backbone for its work. He hired a man named Frick to do all the dirty business, while he hid in Scotland to avoid blame. With a typical "Napoleon" complex, the stout Scotsman desired to be the richest man in America. His dream came true.
In 1901, the financial kingpin of NY (and America) bought Carnegie out of his steel empire. In the short-term, Carnegie became the wealthiest man. In the long-term, the man he sold to became the wealthiest man--making America's first billion-dollar corporation: US Steel Trust. In addition, after the deal, witnesses say Carnegie cringed from politics and business stratagems. Perhaps the spineless Scotsman was bullied into silence? It does seem odd that suddenly after acquiring all that money from the kingpin, Carnegie suddenly felt the urge to get rid of it. He could've been an obstacle to future monopolistic greed, but instead Carnegie gave away his fortune to build church organs and libraries. That's it. That's all he ever did. (Maybe he was told, "you can keep your money, but don't make any more of it, and spend it all").
While Carnegie hemorrhaged the money that he'd just given him, the kingpin manipulated America's steel stocks to his advantage. U.S. Steel Company continued to be an immense player, as both World Wars ensued, and as car production and skyscrapers zoomed.
Another instance of a wealthy competitor suddenly going limp is the Vanderbilt family. Their patriarch, the "Commodore" was a ruthless, heartless railroad monopoly robber baron, also living in NYC. After his death, it seems as if some force influenced his upstart family, and they also cringed away from politics and business... and merely spent away all their money. It seems insane, right? A clan that was so hellbent on climbing to the top of the NYC wealth ladder (Mrs. Ava Vanderbilt strategically kicked-down the door of Mrs. Caroline Schermerhorn Astor--the diva of NYC Society, and Ava's daughter's marriage to the English Duke of Marlborough saved his ancestral Blenheim Palace) would inexplicably let go of it all and throw away its money? Perhaps they were bullied into silence, too? (you can keep your money, but don't make any more of it, and spend it all). Thus, the mightily powerful Vanderbilt railroad monopoly was dismantled; it's now the inefficient government-run Amtrak. Another competitor gone.
(Interesting fact: the famous "high society photographer", Jose Mora, suddenly closed his shop in 1893 and disappeared. 30 years later, in 1911, he was discovered living as a recluse in a NYC hotel. Declared incompetent by a hospital, he died a few months later... but had $200,000 in his bank account. Perhaps he photographed or witnessed something that he shouldn't've?)
If he couldn't buy them out, the finance kingpin was probably happy when they were dead. John Jacob Astor was the head of the NYC Astor clan. Astor's grandfather died in 1848, owning vast amounts of Manhattan real estate--which he let others build on. A massive landlord, he collected rent from building owners, developers, and tenants. Quite intelligent, J.J. Astor knew sciences, paleontology, theology, technology, and travel. In his 1894 book, A Journey In Other Worlds, he predicted solar power, air travel, space travel, global climate change, global corporate power above parliaments, and technological wonders. It was years before sci-fi author, H.G. Wells wrote about them. The younger Astor didn't agree with cold-hearted finance tactics, and he "stood in the way" as a possible opponent to the idea of a Federal Reserve Bank.
The Astor clan pivoted on him. Luring him to travel on the ill-fated Titanic proved to be his death-sentence in 1912. Against all logical reason, the infamous steamship sped faster than needed through a confirmed ice patch (which was far north of its planned route), despite warnings from other ships. Divers and researchers now discover that the below-water steel rivets of the ocean liner were of inferior quality. Also, the ship--which had every conceivable amenity--couldn't find its binoculars for the lookouts on its maiden voyage?!
Society of that era mandated that on a sinking ship, "women and children" were saved in lifeboats, and "men and captain went down with the ship". Deliberately without enough lifeboats, it was a surefire guarantee that Astor would die on the maiden voyage... along with other millionaires (possible opponents).
Who was the man that lured Astor aboard? The same man who was scheduled to occupy the only other deluxe suite (opposite Astor)--but who cancelled at the last minute. The kingpin. He was also a big investor of the White Star Line, which created Titanic and its two identical sister ships (both of which were also punctured underwater in similar manner).
Would someone really go to all that trouble to build a ship just to kill some opponents? Think of the ancient Trojan Horse. Think of the faux "inflatable" army of tanks in WWII England. Think of the microchip co-patent holders who disappeared on a flight. Consider the stakes.
The rest of the Astor clan fled to England. They still retain holding rights to NYC land, but they seem bullied into non-interfering silence overseas. There, they reside in quiet luxury... just like Carnegie did.
[Some sociologists compare young Astor's demise to the last Tzar of Russia, who equally stood opposed to certain "global maneuvers". He was pro-peace conference, trying to terminate weapons/arms races. (However, wars are great for banks, steel manufacturers, and oil suppliers). In 1901, the tzar was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for initiating the modern Laws of War. He was also apposed to the League of Nations as a world governing body. Yet, is inability to be a strong leader, along with conspirators within his own House, ignited the Revolution that killed him and ended the monarchy. Instead of feeding the poor, as intended, the Revolution turned royal treasures into Soviet war dollars... which helped the American economy anyway. The tzar died in 1917, just as WWI ended. WWII was nearly identical, and ended similarly (Russia as one of the allies), but WITH the creation of the United Nations.]
With opponents removed from the playing field, a colossal empire was forged. The Financial Panic of 1907 got even more investment firm to march to the kingpin's orders. He kept New York City from defaulting on its payroll and loans. He gathered 50 bank presidents to his library and did't let them out until the next day, when they agreed to pay.
After 1910, Congress investigated the kingpin's network of interlocking Directorates among banks, railroads, energy, manufacturing, and brokerages. The monopolistic power scared them of future crises worse than the past!
Naturally, it was the kingpin who hatched the scheme of Income Tax (or rather he locked away some strategists on aforementioned Jekyll Island until they developed the parameters, which were voted through Congress as the 16th Amendment, on Christmas Eve of 1913 when most people were gone). Some Americans still oppose it, citing that it was never properly ratified and is thus illegal. At the same time, Jekyll Island (as in Dr. Jekyll - Mr. Hyde) was also the birthplace of the Federal Reserve, a privately owned organization that works WITH the federal gov't to manipulate American currency, lending, interest rates, gold standard, and money (like a guardian/regent to ensure things go according to plan).
After 1914, the top tax rate was hiked up from 7% to 70% to kill off other millionaires (competitors), then it was scaled back to 24% in the 1920s, to allow for certain parties to grow. During the Great Depression, the top tax rate rose again to 70%, and men similar to the kingpin bought up foreclosures and bankruptcies at bargain prices! (as they did during every financial panic or depression). To keep out the next generation of "nouveau riche", the top tax rate soared to 90% from 1944 until 1953. (Nowadays, it's 35%). Those closest to the kingpin knew of the impending tax rate hikes/drops (and of the wars and manipulated stock market crashes), so they could protect their assets. Those whom the kingpin disliked were not given warning and were ruined.
With nobody seemingly able or willing to stop it, the kingpin's colossus seemed omnipotent.
Where does that leave the "little man", the average tax payer? He's still viewed upon as a "cog in a wheel", based on a business model/organizational theory from the Industrial Revolution, one hundred years ago.
By "holding all the cards", relying on gullible followers, and playing a crooked game, he launched a legacy of financial organizations that are still criticized in the media for hampering human progress. Yet, they tower above the world.
In 2017, the above pictured U.S. multinational banking / financial services / asset & wealth management / securities service / credit card company (headquartered in New York City), is the largest bank in America, the world's 3rd largest bank with (declared) assets of $2.5 trillion. Its hedge fund unit is the 2nd largest in America. It is followed by Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo (each of which are harshly criticized by senators and citizens advocacy groups for perpetual wrongdoing). Looking at their media headlines, too few involve philanthropy that actually accomplishes anything. Too many involve conflicts on investment research, failure to comply with client money rules, mortgage overcharge activity, manipulations of energy market, sanctions violations, "sons & daughters" hiring programs, discrimination lawsuits, lobbying, speculative trading losses, Enron, Bear Stearns, Washington Mutual, "Truth in Lending" litigation, criminal obstruction of justice, illegal securities sales, Madoff fraud, corruption in Asia, and its purchase of UK's carbon offsetting firm ClimateCare. That organization was created/initiated by the kingpin to survive long after he was dead.
If you don't believe that other corporations/industries controlled by the kingpin are equally powerful nowadays, consider this online post by a friend of mine:
Even though coal is an antiquated/unhealthy fuel industry that's been propped up by our government for scores of years, because the kingpin set it up for longterm profit--with a gov't he manipulated--our "first world country" is the last one to keep using it, while other nations use hydro, air, and thermal power sources.
Certainly, the kingpin of America must've learned his trade from someone (other than his dead passive father).
Interesting fact: And yet, the kingpin discovered a gem, thus adding his name forever in infamy in Nature's book. In 1910, a new gemstone was discovered in the island-nation of Madagascar by Tiffany & Co.'s chief gemologist George Kunz. He named it Morganite, in honor of his financial backer (who already owned one of the most important gem collections). One of morganite's properties is its intense red fluorescence when exposed to X-rays. Tesla might giggle at that.
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