What did Jay Gould do to be successful? American financier and railroad builder Jay Gould made a fortune by controlling the price of the stocks he bought as well as the stock market itself. He later became one of the shrewdest businessmen in American industry.
What did Jay Gould do to be successful?
Western railroads After being forced out of the Erie Railroad, Gould started to build up a system of railroads in the midwest and west. He took control of the Union Pacific in 1873 when its stock was depressed by the Panic of 1873, and he built a viable railroad that depended on shipments from farmers and ranchers.
What did Jay Gould do to his workers?
So why would a handful of Hartford telegraph workers in 1883 take him on? Gould robbed working people and millionaires alike. He bought his way out of the Civil War draft, issued millions of dollars in phony railroad stock, bribed legislators, and manipulated President Grant in an attempt to corner the gold market.
Is Stephen Jay Gould still alive?
May 20, 2002Stephen Jay Gould / Date of death
What was Jay Gould accused of?
Jay Gould and a few other conspirators had been secretly stockpiling gold since August, but upon learning that the fix was in, they disguised their identities behind an army of brokers and proceeded to gobble up all the gold they could.
How did Cornelius Vanderbilt treat his employees?
Cornelius Vanderbilt did not treat his workers well. Although very wealthy, he was not particularly generous with his money and did nothing to improve the working conditions of his workers, who labored long hours for little pay.
How many employees did Jay Gould have?
100,000 menIt is said that at his death he owned or controlled 10,000 miles of railroads and had in his employment 100,000 men.
What did Gould and Fisk do to the gold market?
In August 1869, Gould and Fisk began to buy gold in an attempt to corner the market, hoping that the increase in the price of gold would increase the price of wheat and motivate western farmers to sell. This, in turn, would cause a great amount of shipping eastward, increasing freight business for the Erie Railroad. During this time, Gould used contacts with President Ulysses S. Grant 's brother-in-law Abel Corbin to influence the president and his Secretary General Horace Porter. These speculations culminated in the panic of Black Friday on September 24, 1869, when the greenback (cash) premium over face value fell on a gold Double Eagle from 62 percent to 35 percent. Gould made a small profit from this operation by hedging against his own attempted corner as it was about to collapse, but he lost it in subsequent lawsuits. The gold corner established Gould's reputation in the press as an all-powerful figure who could drive the market up and down at will.
What did Gould buy for?
Gould purchased stock for 10 cents on the dollar, which left him in control of the company. He engaged in more speculation on railroad stocks in New York City throughout the Civil War, and he was appointed manager of the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad in 1863.
How did Gould take control of the Erie Railroad?
In 1873, Gould attempted to take control of the Erie Railroad by recruiting foreign investments from Lord Gordon-Gordon, supposedly a cousin of the wealthy Campbell clan who was buying land for immigrants. He bribed Gordon-Gordon with a million dollars in stock, but Gordon-Gordon was an impostor and cashed the stock immediately. Gould sued him, and the case went to trial in March 1873. In court, Gordon-Gordon gave the names of the Europeans whom he claimed to represent, and he was granted bail while the references were checked. He immediately fled to Canada, where he convinced authorities that the charges were false.
What was Jay Gould's job?
Early career. Jay Gould ( right) in 1855. Gould's school principal was credited with getting him a job as a bookkeeper for a blacksmith. A year later, the blacksmith offered him half interest in the blacksmith shop, which he sold to his father during the early part of 1854. Gould devoted himself to private study, ...
Who was the owner of the Gouldsboro Tannery?
The Gouldsboro Tannery became a disputed property after Leupp 's death. Leupp's brother-in-law David W. Lee was also a partner in Leupp and Gould, and he took armed control of the tannery. He believed that Gould had cheated the Leupp and Lee families in the collapse of the business.
Where did Gould go to school?
Gould studied at the Hobart Academy in Hobart, New York, paying his way by bookkeeping. As a young boy, he decided that he wanted nothing to do with farming, his father's occupation, so his father dropped him off at a nearby school with fifty cents and a sack of clothes.
Where is Jay Gould's mausoleum?
The mausoleum of Jay Gould. Gould's portrait hanging in his office at Lyndhurst which he purchased in 1880. After being forced out of the Erie Railroad, Gould started to build up a system of railroads in the midwest and west.
How much was Jay Gould worth?
The newspapers ran lengthy accounts of his career and noted that his wealth was probably close to $100 million. The lengthy front-page obituary in Joseph Pulitzer's New York Evening World indicated the essential conflict of Gould's life. The newspaper referred to "Jay Gould's Wonderful Career" in a headline.
How did Gould's plot work?
Gould’s plot could only work if the federal government chose not to sell gold reserves while Gould and his cronies were working to drive up the price. To sideline the Treasury Department, Gould bribed officials in the federal government, including a relative of President Ulysses S. Grant .
What was the gold corner?
The intricate scheme would allow Gould essentially to control the gold supply in America, which would mean he could influence the entire national economy.
Why did Gould buy railroads?
In the 1870s, Gould bought up various railroads during a time when a financial panic drove down prices. He understood that railroads needed to expand in the West and that demand for reliable transportation across great distances would outlive any financial instabilities.
Where did Drew and Gould go?
At one point, Gould, Fisk, and Drew fled to a hotel in New Jersey to be beyond the reach of the New York legal authorities. As Fisk put on a public show, giving lively interviews to the press, Gould arranged to bribe politicians in Albany, New York, the state capital.
What happened on September 24, 1869?
On a day that would become known as “Black Friday,” September 24, 1869, the price of gold began to rise and a panic ensued on Wall Street. By midday, Gould’s plan unraveled as the federal government began to sell gold on the market, driving down the price.
Where was Jay Gould born?
Early Life. Jayson “Jay” Gould was born into a farming family in Roxbury, New York, on May 27, 1836. He attended a local school and learned basic subjects. He was self-taught in surveying and in his late teens he was employed making maps of counties in New York State.
Overview
Jason Gould was an American railroad magnate and financial speculator who is generally identified as one of the Robber barons of the Gilded Age. His sharp and often unscrupulous business practices made him one of the wealthiest men of the late nineteenth century. Gould was an unpopular figure during his life and remains controversial.
Early life and education
Gould was born in Roxbury, New York, to Mary More (1798–1841) and John Burr Gould (1792–1866). His maternal grandfather Alexander T. More was a businessman, and his great-grandfather John More was a Scottish immigrant who founded the town of Moresville, New York. Gould studied at the Hobart Academy in Hobart, New York, paying his way by bookkeeping. As a young boy, he decided that he wanted nothing to do with farming, his father's occupation, so his …
Early career
Gould's school principal was credited with getting him a job as a bookkeeper for a blacksmith. A year later, the blacksmith offered him half interest in the blacksmith shop, which he sold to his father during the early part of 1854. Gould devoted himself to private study, emphasizing surveying and mathematics. In 1854, he surveyed and created maps of the Ulster County, New York, area. In 1856, he published History of Delaware County, and Border Wars of New York, wh…
Railroad investing
In 1859, Gould began speculative investing by buying stock in small railways. His father-in-law Daniel S. Miller introduced him to the railroad industry by suggesting that Gould help him save his investment in the Rutland and Washington Railroad in the Panic of 1857. Gould purchased stock for 10 cents on the dollar, which left him in control of the company. He engaged in more speculation on railroad stocks in New York City throughout the Civil War, and he was appointed …
Black Friday
In August 1869, Gould and Fisk began to buy gold in an attempt to corner the market, hoping that the increase in the price of gold would increase the price of wheat and motivate western farmers to sell. This, in turn, would cause a great amount of shipping eastward, increasing freight business for the Erie Railroad. During this time, Gould used contacts with President Ulysses S. Grant's brother-in-law Abel Corbin to influence the president and his Secretary General Horace Porter. The…
Lord Gordon-Gordon
In 1873, Gould attempted to take control of the Erie Railroad by recruiting foreign investments from Lord Gordon-Gordon, supposedly a cousin of the wealthy Campbell clan who was buying land for immigrants. He bribed Gordon-Gordon with a million dollars in stock, but Gordon-Gordon was an impostor and cashed the stock immediately. Gould sued him, and the case went to trial in March 1873. In court, Gordon-Gordon gave the names of the Europeans whom he claimed to represent, …
Personal life
Gould was a member of West Presbyterian Church at 31 West 42nd Street. It later merged with Park Presbyterian to form West-Park Presbyterian.
He married Helen Day Miller (1838–1889) in 1863 and they had six children.
Together with his son George, Gould was a founding member of American Yacht Club. He owned the steam yacht Atalanta (1883).
Descendants
Gould married Helen Day Miller (1838–1889) in 1863; they had:
• George Jay Gould I (1864–1923), married Edith M. Kingdon (1864–1921)
• Edwin Gould I (1866–1933), married Sarah Cantine Shrady
• Helen Gould (1868–1938), married Finlay Johnson Shepard (1867–1942) They adopted three children.
Early Life
Wall Street
- Gould moved to New York City in the 1850sand began learning the ways of Wall Street. The stock market was largely unregulated at the time, and Gould became adept at manipulating stocks. Gould was ruthless at using techniques such as cornering a stock, by which he could drive prices up and ruin speculators who were “short” on the stock, betting the price would go down. It was w…
The Erie War
- In 1867 Gould obtained a position on the board of the Erie Railroad and began working with Daniel Drew, who had been manipulating stocks on Wall Street for decades. Drew controlled the railroad, along with a younger associate, the flamboyant Jim Fisk. Gould and Fisk were nearly opposite in character, but they became friends and partners. Fisk was prone to attracting attention with ver…
The Gold Corner
- In the late 1860s, Gould noticed some quirks in the way the gold market fluctuated, and he devised a scheme to corner gold. The intricate scheme would allow Gould essentially to control the gold supply in America, which would mean he could influence the entire national economy. Gould’s plot could only work if the federal government chose not to sel...
Gould and The Railroads
- Gould and Fisk ran the Erie Railroad until 1872, when Fisk, whose private life had become the subject of countless newspaper headlines, was murdered in a Manhattan hotel. As Fisk lay dying, Gould rushed to his side, as did another friend, William M. “Boss” Tweed, the leader of Tammany Hall, New York’s infamous political machine. Following the death of Fisk, Gould was ousted as h…
More Questionable Associations
- In the 1880s, Gould became involved in transportation in New York City, operating an elevated railroad in Manhattan. He also bought the American Union Telegraph company, which he merged with Western Union. By the late 1880s, Gould dominated much of the transportation and communication infrastructure of the United States. In one shady episode, Gould became involve…
Marriage and Home Life
- Gould was married in 1863, and he and his wife had six children. His personal life was relatively quiet. As he prospered, he lived in a mansion on New York City’s Fifth Avenue but seemed uninterested in flaunting his wealth. His great hobby was raising orchids in a greenhouse attached to his mansion.
Death
- When Gould died of tuberculosis, on December 2, 1892, his death was front-page news. The newspapers ran lengthy accounts of his career and noted that his wealth was probably close to $100 million. The lengthy front-page obituary in Joseph Pulitzer's New York Evening World indicated the essential conflict of Gould's life. The newspaper referred to "Jay Gould's Wonderfu…
Legacy
- Gould has generally been depicted as a dark force in American life, a stock manipulator whose methods would not be allowed in today’s world of securities regulation. A perfect villain in his time, he was portrayed in political cartoons drawn by artists such as Thomas Nastas running with bags of money in his hands. History’s verdict on Gould has been no kinder than the newspapers …
Sources
- Geisst, Charles R. Monopolies in America: Empire Builders and Their Enemies, from Jay Gould to Bill Gates.Oxford University Press, 2000.
- “Jay Gould: Financier in the Age of Robber Barons.” Jay Gould: Financier in the Age of Robber Barons, www.u-s-history.com/pages/h866.html.
- Hoyt, Edwin P. The Goulds: A Social History. Weybright and Talley, 1969.
- Geisst, Charles R. Monopolies in America: Empire Builders and Their Enemies, from Jay Gould to Bill Gates.Oxford University Press, 2000.
- “Jay Gould: Financier in the Age of Robber Barons.” Jay Gould: Financier in the Age of Robber Barons, www.u-s-history.com/pages/h866.html.
- Hoyt, Edwin P. The Goulds: A Social History. Weybright and Talley, 1969.
- Klein, Maury. The Life and Legend of Jay Gould.Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986.
