J.P. Morgan dominated the financial world of the late 19th century with a level of power that no single person possesses today. While we recognize his name on massive banks, the real man was a complex figure who suffered from a disfiguring skin condition and obsessed over solitaire. For instance, he almost boarded the Titanic for its maiden voyage but cancelled at the last minute. Furthermore, he personally bailed out the United States government during two separate financial crises. Prepare to enter the library of the original tycoon.
J. P. Morgan
He was supposed to be on the Titanic when it sank. Morgan owned the company that built the ship and had a private suite reserved for the maiden voyage. However, he decided to stay in France to enjoy his morning massages and buy more art, which ultimately saved his life.
A skin condition called rhinophyma disfigured his nose. This disease caused his nose to become purple and bulbous, which made him incredibly self-conscious. Consequently, he hated being photographed and would often attack photographers who tried to snap a picture of him on the street.
J. P. Morgan retouched his official portraits to fix his nose. Whenever he sat for a professional painting or photograph, he ordered the artist to make his nose look normal. Therefore, the official images we see in history books rarely show the true extent of his condition.
His uncle wrote the song “Jingle Bells.” James Lord Pierpont, the financier’s uncle, composed the famous holiday tune originally called “The One Horse Open Sleigh.” While J.P. Morgan dealt with millions of dollars, his family legacy also included one of the most simple and popular songs in history.
He saved the US government from collapse in 1895. The United States Treasury nearly ran out of gold, which would have destroyed the economy. Morgan used an old Civil War law to form a syndicate and lend the government 3.5 million ounces of gold to keep the country afloat.
He locked the country’s top bankers in his library during the Panic of 1907. When the stock market crashed, he forced the leading financiers to meet in his private study to find a solution. He locked the doors and refused to let them leave until they agreed to put up their own money to save the system.
J. P. Morgan played solitaire while the bankers argued for their lives. During that high-stakes meeting in 1907, Morgan sat quietly at a table and played cards while the others panicked. He only stopped playing to tell them exactly what to do once they had suffered enough.
A gemstone is named “Morganite” in his honor. The famous gemologist George Kunz named a pink variety of beryl after Morgan to thank him for his patronage. Morgan was an avid collector of gems and eventually donated his massive collection to the American Museum of Natural History.
He cut funding for Nikola Tesla’s wireless tower. Morgan initially invested in Tesla’s Wardenclyffe Tower project to build a radio system. However, when he realized that Tesla wanted to provide free wireless electricity that no one could meter or sell, he stopped signing the checks.
His house was the first private residence in New York to have electric light. He hired Thomas Edison to install the new technology in his mansion on Madison Avenue. Unfortunately, the generator was so loud that his neighbors complained, and it required a dedicated engineer to run it every night.
He created the first billion-dollar company in history. Morgan bought out Andrew Carnegie and merged several steel companies to form United States Steel in 1901. This massive corporation controlled two-thirds of all steel production in America and had a capitalization of 1.4 billion dollars.
J. P. Morgan helped found the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Morgan served as the president of the museum and donated thousands of pieces from his personal collection. In fact, he spent a huge portion of his fortune acquiring art from Europe to bring culture to the United States.
His famous yacht was named the Corsair. He actually owned four different yachts with this name over the years, each larger than the last. When a guest asked how much the yacht cost to operate, Morgan famously replied, “If you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it.”
He arranged the merger that created General Electric. He brought together Edison General Electric and the Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form the giant known as GE. This move effectively pushed Thomas Edison out of the company that bore his own name.
Finally, the “Morganization” process changed business forever. He specialized in taking over bankrupt railroads and reorganizing them to be more efficient. While this made the companies profitable, it also created massive monopolies that eventually led the government to break up his empire.
