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Home > Tycoons and Benefactors

  • Tycoons and Benefactors

    As expansion and fortune spread, a new kind of no-money-to-new money class came into being. Get to know the capitalist magnates and their philanthropist efforts that still hold strong throughout the world today.

Table of Contents:

  • Alfred de Rothschild Strikes Gold in South Africa
  • William M. Rice: Philanthropy, Murder, and the I&GN Railroad
  • Meyer Guggenheim: Patriarch of a Philanthropic Dynasty
  • Diamond Jim Brady: Flamboyance, Charisma, and Gluttony

  • Alfred de Rothschild Strikes Gold in South Africa

    Map of the Transvaal gold fields and a caricature of Alfred de Rothschild

    After the discovery of gold in South Africa, mining first-timers and moguls alike flocked from all over the globe. Alfred de Rothschild, part of the London branch of the famous Jewish banking dynasty the House of Rothschild, invested in gold and diamond rushes in southern Africa.

    Read more about Alfred de Rothschild Strikes Gold in South Africa

    Left Image: 1896 map showing the Transvaal Gold Fields located in present-day Johannesburg, South Africa; author Engineering and Mining Journal courtesy Wikimedia Commons [1]. Right Image: Caricature of Alfred de Rothschild; author Leslie Ward courtesy Wikimedia Commons [2].

  • William M. Rice: Philanthropy, Murder, and the I&GN Railroad

    Portrait of William Rice and news headline “The Startling Story of W. M. Rice’s Murder, as told in the Complete Confession”

    Railroad mogul William M. Rice left his legacy as a major philanthropist in Texas history, donating fortunes to found Rice University. His life was one of rising to financial heights only to fall to be the victim of a scandal when his lawyer forged a fraudulent will and organized his bizarre and clandestine murder.

    Read more about William M. Rice: Philanthropy, Murder, and the I&GN Railroad

    Left Image: An engraving of William Marsh Rice; E. G. Williams & Bro courtesy Wikimedia Commons [3]. Right Image: A newspaper headline about the William M. Rice murder conspiracy; Courtesy Rice University Fondren Library [4].

  • Meyer Guggenheim: Patriarch of a Philanthropic Dynasty

    Drawn plans showing railroad changes for the Thirteenth and Fifteenth railroad and a portrait of Meyer Guggenheim

    Jewish entrepreneur and copper industry tycoon Meyer Guggenheim became the patriarch of the prominent Guggenheim family, a name associated today with supporting museums and the arts throughout the world. After escaping oppression as a Jewish man in Europe, Guggenheim built his wealth in copper mining and refining, an industry his seven sons would later come to dominate in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in America.

    Read more about Meyer Guggenheim: Patriarch of a Philanthropic Dynasty

    Left Image: Plans showing the change of track route on the Thirteenth and Fifteenth railroad due to widening footways; courtesy Philadelphia Streets Department, Survey and Designs Bureau [5]. Right Image: Portrait of Meyer Guggenheim; courtesy Wikimedia Commons [6].

  • Diamond Jim Brady: Flamboyance, Charisma, and Gluttony

    Portrait of Diamond Jim Brady and caricature of people mistaking the sparkle of his diamonds for electric lights

    “Diamond” Jim Brady was known for his flamboyance, lavish adornments of diamonds, and gluttonous appetite. Starting as a bellboy at the age of 11, by the age of 30 he was making $1 million a year selling railroad supplies. Brady was seen as both a questionable businessman as well as a generous benefactor and is written about for his colorful personality and presence wherever he went.

    Read more about Diamond Jim Brady: Flamboyance, Charisma, and Gluttony

    Left Image: Tycoon Diamond Jim Brady, ca. 1910; author Bain News Service courtesy Library of Congress [7]. Right Image: Diamond Jim Brady earned a reputation for flashiness with his sparkling jewelry; author Hopkins courtesy Hathi Trust Digital Library [8].

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Certificate with black ink shows intricate borders and lettering with red strike-through words and two purple bleed-through stamps

Consolidated Virginia Mining Company
Certificate with black and green ink shows intricate borders and lettering, and a family seal

Ben Trovato Estate and Gold Mining Company, Limited
This stock certificate (No. 20261) represents 20 shares valued at $100 each for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company. Two vignettes in the top corners each feature a woman dressed in a white dress with a blanket draped over her knees. The left woman is sitting on a bushel of wheat and is holding a hand scythe, and the right woman is sitting on several barrels and boxes holding a rapier-looking rod. The center vignette depicts a train with five cars linked and a bridge and several buildings behind it. This certificate also shows the company’s corporate seal and two stamps denoting cancellation (see Translation field for more).

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company
Certificate with black and green ink shows intricate borders and lettering, signatures, company seal, an eagle vignette and cancelled punched out

Getchell Mine, Inc.
Certificate with black and green ink shows intricate bordering, lettering, a company seal, signatures and a vignette of men on horses with cattle

The International and Great Northern Railroad Company
Certificate with black ink shows intricate borders, lettering, signatures, and a vignette with a bulldog, horse-drawn carriage, harbor, and eagle

American Express Company
Certificate with blue and black ink shows intricate bordering, lettering, seals, signatures, and vignettes of a Roman god and men

The Providence Securities Company
Certificate with blue ink shows intricate borders, lettering, company seal, holes, and signatures and vignettes of a boat, eagle, bridge, and girl

13th & 15th Streets Passenger Railway Company
Certificate with black and yellow ink shows intricate bordering, lettering, a seal, signatures, and vignettes of an eagle, train, and coal mine

Cody’s Wyoming Coal Company

Related Stories

  • Nevada Revolves Around Tonopah & Wingfield Full Story

  • Embezzlement and the Nevada Highway Full Story

  • Johns Hopkins and the B & O Railroad Full Story

  • Buffalo Bill Cody: Romancing the Western Frontier Full Story

Sources

  1. Left Image: 1896 map of the Transvaal Gold Fields. (1896). Engineering and Mining Journal pp. 60. Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transvaal_gold_fields#/media/File:Transvaal_Gold_Fields.png
  2. Right Image: Ward, L. (May 31, 1884). Caricature of Alfred Charles de Rothschild (1842–1918). Vanity Fair. Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_de_Rothschild#/media/File:Alfred_de_Rothschild.png
  3. Left Image: E. G. Williams & Bro., WRC. (ca. 1800). William Marsh Rice. Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:William_Marsh_Rice.gif
  4. Right Image: The startling story of W. M. Rice’s murder as told in the complete confession of valet Jones before attempting suicide newspaper clipping. (1900). Public Domain from Rice University Fondren Library. Retrieved from https://exhibits.library.rice.edu/exhibits/show/founding/item/564
  5. Left Image: Shedaker, D. H. (1874). Plan showing change of Thirteenth and Fifteenth Streets Railway tracks on Broad St. from Carpenter St. to Washington Ave. on account of widening the foodways [Approved Dec. 7, 1874] 1874. Philadelphia Streets Department, Survey and Designs Bureau. Public Domain from https://www.philageohistory.org/rdic-images/view-image.cfm/RC-012-f
  6. Right Image: Meyer Guggenheim. (2012). Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Meyer_Guggenheim.jpg
  7. Left Image: Bain News Service (ca. 1910) "Diamond Jim" Brady. , ca. 1910 [Photograph]. Public Domain from the Library of Congress. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/2014697578/
  8. Right Image: Hopkins (1900). Illuminator [cartoon]. Sis Hopkins own book and magazine of fun no. 7. Public Domain from Hathi Trust Digital Library. Retrieved from https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435070508569;view=1up;seq=12
  9. Brandeis, L.B. (1972). Letters of Louis D. Brandeis: Volume II, 1907-1912: people’s Attorney. M.I. Urofsky & D.W. Levy (Eds.). Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=PgRR93C5gX8C&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false
  10. Bryk, W. (1998). Diamond Jim Brady. New York Press via City of smoke: New York in history and anecdote. Retrieved from http://www.cityofsmoke.com/archives/611
  11. Jeffers, H.P. (2002). Diamond Jim Brady: Prince of the Gilded Age. New York: John Wiley & Sins, Inc. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=UmjGUt3_pOIC&lpg=PP1&pg=PR3#v=onepage&q&f=false
  12. Kamp, D. (December 30, 2008). Whether true or false, a real stretch. New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/31/dining/31diam.html
  13. Kelley, E.M. (2008). Law, justice & vengeance, mythology & symbolism, the furies. Stocks and Bonds Galore. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/emorgankelley/law
  14. Lach, E.L. (2001). Brady, Diamond Jim. In American National Biography. Retrieved from https://doi-org.unr.idm.oclc.org/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1002232
  15. New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Co.: Evidence taken before the Interstate Commerce Commission. (July 13, 1914). Senate Documents. Washington: Government Printing Office. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=YNdGAQAAIAAJ&pg=PR1#v=onepage&q&f=false
  16. New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Co. logo. (2017). Google from Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:New_Haven_Railroad_Script_Logo.tif
  17. Ripley, W.Z. (1915). Railroads: Finance & Organizations. Washington, D.C.: BeardBooks. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=c8mDJHl9L40C&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false
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Story Themes

  • Art of the Bond
  • Backing the Republic of Texas
  • Bankrolling the Revolutionary and Civil Wars
  • Forging the Wild West
  • Nevada’s Promises and Perils
  • Railroads and Trade Routes
  • Scandals and Swindlers
  • Tycoons and Benefactors

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