A beefy thick-necked financial bully, drunk with wealth and power, who bawls his orders to stock markets, directors, courts, governments and nations.
The above two quotes suggests something of a dichotomy within the character of John Pierpont Morgan. On the one hand, a benevolent philanthropists, while on the other a ruthless financier determined to have his way. As with most successful individuals who devote the main energy of their lives to accomplishing a significant goal, John Pierpont Morgan was extremely successful in both domestic and international finance. His influence over and control of private enterprise and government financing was unparalleled in American history, “…in 1871 he entered the firm of Drexel, Morgan and Company, which he reorganized in 1895 as J.P. Morgan and Company, with branches in Paris and London. Because of his dominant position in the fields of both domestic and international finance, Morgan’s control of private enterprise and government financing was unequaled by any American of his time,” (Encarta 1). Nonetheless, also like most major successes, Morgan devoted so much of his time and energy to being the world’s most successful financier that he subsequently neglected his family and the banking world’s gain equated to their personal loss. In addition, Morgan’s success also came at the expense of those who worked for him and helped build his success. This analysis and discussion of J.P. Morgan will demonstrate how his success with money had the cost of creating losses for both his own family and his workers. The main premise being, that even though J.P. Morgan was a great philanthropist and financial innovator, his enormous level of success was achieved at a loss to both workers and his own family.
The son of Junius Spencer Morgan, John Pierpont (J.P.) Morgan worked in various banking houses, including his fathers. In the 1870s he would enter a partnership with Anthony J...