John Pierpont Morgan once said that "a man always has two reasons for doing anything - a good reason and the real reason" (Monkeyshines Explores Math, Money, and Banking, p. 123). J.P. Morgan, as he was known, was both a successful businessman and a philanthropist. In his life, he combined the talent for making money with the willingness to use a great deal of his wealth for charity.
In a very real sense, Morgan was a paradox. The ruthless behavior that was needed to become one of the richest people in the United States at the end of the nineteenth century is contrasted in his life with his great charity work. In this essay, the two sides of J.P. Morgan's personality will be examined.
Frederick Lewis Allen (p. 1) called J.P. Morgan "the most influential banker in the world and the mightiest personal force in American business life during his lifetime." Unlike other influential capitalists like John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and George F. Baker, J.P. Morgan was born to a relatively wealthy family with a good social position.
Allen (p. 11) says that Morgan "grew up in an atmosphere of financial security, rising business prestige, and rising worldly consequence." He was born in Hartford, Connecticut on April 17, 1837. After going to college in Germany for two years, Morgan began working as an accountant in the New York firm of Duncan, Sherman, and Company (Monkeyshines Explores Math, Money, and Banking, p. 123).
In 1860, J.P. Morgan began working for his father's banking firm. In 1871, he went to work with Drexel, Morgan and Company. By 1895, this company was renamed J.P. Morgan and Company. Morgan's career quickly developed and by 1900, he controlled one of the major American railroads. In 1901, he personally and professionally financed a major corporate merger that resulted in the creation of the first American billion dollar company. This company was U.S. Steel Corporation (Monkeyshines Explo...