J.P. Morgan -Matt Bissada, period 5

John Pierpont Morgan(1837-1913)

  J.P. Morgan a art collector, business leader and Philanthropist was born April 17th, 1837 in Hartford, Connecticut later becoming known for being the founder of J.P. Morgan & Co., a master of finance, and arguably becoming  the country’s leading businessman during his era. Morgan was the leading financier of the Progressive Era.

  1857 Morgan began his career as an accountant and he spent many years working in his father’s business.  He decided to start his own private banking company with Anthony Drexel called Drexel, Morgan, & Company. Drexel became Morgan’s mentor from a request from J.P.’s father Junius Morgan. Drexel died 1893 and Morgan split the companies and named his company J.P. Morgan & Company. Morgan still supported Drexel and company of Philadelphia, even though there was a split. His private banking became so successful that the U.S. government asked for help from Morgan to help get a solution for the depression of 1895. He stopped the Panic of 1907. Although later the government sued the company because of concerns of monopolies.

Due to Morgan’s success it attracted a lot of close examination from the media and government, leading as one of his descriptions was that he was a cold rational man. The Pujo Committee, a organization to control the financiers that exerted powerful control over the nation’s finances, made up of people from Wall Street and financiers, sued Morgan and his company. They found that the financial leaders(Morgan and Company) were abusing their control of industries and they calculated and found that there was 22.245 billion dollars spent on resources. In the 1890s- early 1900s  a lot of the country’s industries were in control of the powerful business leaders such as Morgan. Media would often criticize how he would create monopolies to make it difficult for any business to compete against his. He arranged in 1901 to have the Edison general electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form into one company called General Electric. Morgan controlled two very successful industries. he helped stabilize the railroad industry in the east. he reorganized the railroads in 1885 becoming a board member and gaining dominance of large amounts of the railroad companies he helped restructure. The other company he helped  was the U.S. Steel Corporation by merging Carngie Steel Company, Consolidated Steel, Wire Company and several other companies into one, become the first billion dollar corporation in the world. 1896 Adolph Simon Ochs who at that time owned The Chattanooga had Morgan help him purchase the financially struggling New York Times. He was the most powerful out of the trusts, getting him power to control most of the basic American industries.

Morgan enjoyed sailing and participating in Almeria's Cup yacht races. He owned one of the most significant collections he then donated his art collection to the metropolitan Museum of Art and he his collection of written of works to Morgan library both places located in New York, New York. Morgan lived a life that most people would dream about although Morgan died 1913 in Rome, Italy.

   "John Pierpont Morgan." Spartacus Educational. Web. 04 Jan. 2012 <http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAmorgan.htm>.

   "John Pierpont Morgan Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com."Famous Biographies & TV Shows - Biography.com. Web. 04 Jan. 2012. <http://www.biography.com/people/john-pierpont-morgan-9414735>.

   "JP Morgan Biography - One of the Most Influential Bankers in History." Financial Inspiration Cafe - Your Companion on Your Journey to Financial Freedom. Web. 04 Jan. 2012. <http://www.financial-inspiration.com/JP-Morgan-biography.html>.