Cornelius Vanderbilt

Cornelius Vanderbilt was one of the self-made millionaires of the guilded age.  He brought himself up from rags to riches by developing a shipping business and then a railroad company.  He was able to do this by using brutal cutthroat tactics to out compete his competitors, earning the nickname the "Commodore".  He died a rich man but donated some of his money to form Vanderbilt University.

Vanderbilt was born to a family of Dutch immigrants in 1974 on Staten Island, New York.  Vanderbilt had to help out his father with his ferrying business and did not regularly attend school.  As a teenager he bought his own boat that he used to make money, and he than expanded his business by acquiring more and more boats.

Vanderbilt married a cousin not once but twice.  He first married his cousin Sophia Johnson with whom he had 13 kids.  When she died he married another cousin of his who was over 40 years younger than him.

Vanderbilt's real ticket to fame was in the steamship industry.  Steam power was becoming very important and he took advantage of the growing industry.  He learned a lot about steamships and used this knowledge to expand his boating industry.  He also increased his wealth by crushing his competitors by lowering prices.  Vanderbilt drove his competitors out of business by lowering the fare of a trip on his boats.  He knew that he could survive a period operating at cost but his competitors could not afford to do so.  He also profited during the Gold Rush as there was a great demand for his ships.

Vanderbilt took advantage of steam ships so went on to take advantage of another growing transportation industry: railroads.  Vanderbilt bought some railroad lines and stations that gained him money.

Vanderbilt died in 1877 but his influence led to the rise of other gilded age robber barons like Carnegie and Rockefeller.

Sources:

https://www.history.com/topics/cornelius-vanderbilt