J. P. Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known as J.P. Morgan and Co., he was a driving personal force behind the wave of industrial consolidations in the United States at the turn of the twentieth century.
J. P. Morgan | |
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| Born | John Pierpont Morgan April 17, 1837 Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | March 31, 1913 (aged 75) Rome, Lazio, Italy |
| Resting place | Cedar Hill Cemetery Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Göttingen |
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| Known for | Founding and leading J.P. Morgan & Co., Morgan, Grenfell & Co. and Morgan, Harjes & Co. Financing the creation of American Bridge, General Electric; International Harvester; International Mercantile Marine; Southern Railway and U.S. Steel Organizing the Morgan "money trust" which owned Aetna, General Electric, International Mercantile Marine Company, Pullman Palace Car Company, U.S. Steel, Western Union, and 21 railroads |
| Board member of | Northern Pacific Railway, New Haven Railroad, Pennsylvania Railroad, Pullman Palace Car Company, Western Union, New York Central Railroad, Albany & Susquehanna Railroad, Aetna, General Electric and U.S. Steel |
| Spouses | Amelia Sturges
(m. 1861; died 1862)Frances Louise Tracy
(m. 1865) |
| Children | 4; including Jack and Anne |
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| Family | Morgan |
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Over the course of his career on Wall Street, Morgan spearheaded the formation of several prominent multinational corporations including U.S. Steel, International Harvester, and General Electric. He and his partners also held controlling interests in numerous other American businesses including Aetna, Western Union, the Pullman Car Company, and 21 railroads. Through his holdings, Morgan exercised enormous influence over capital markets in the United States. During the Panic of 1907, he organized a coalition of financiers that saved the American monetary system from collapse.
As the Progressive Era's leading financier, Morgan's dedication to efficiency and modernization helped transform the shape of the American economy. Adrian Wooldridge characterized Morgan as America's "greatest banker". Morgan died in Rome, Italy, in his sleep in 1913 at the age of 75, leaving his fortune and business to his son, John Pierpont Morgan Jr. Biographer Ron Chernow estimated his fortune at $80 million (equivalent to $2.5 billion in 2023).