flâneur

Founders: #258: Jay Gould (Dark Genius of Wall Street)

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What I learned from reading Dark Genius of Wall Street: The Misunderstood Life of Jay Gould, King of the Robber Barons by Edward J. Renehan Jr. ---- Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com ---- [2:40] John D: The Founding Father of the Rockefellers by David Freeman Hawke. (Founders #254) [3:46] From the back cover: Though reviled for more than a century as Wall Street's greatest villain, Jay Gould was in fact its most original creative genius. Gould was the most astute financial and business strategist of his time and also the most widely hated. He was the undisputed master of the nation's railroads and telegraph systems at a time when these were the fastest-growing new technologies of the age. His failed scheme to corner the gold market in 1869 caused the Black Friday panic. He created new ways of manipulating markets, assembling capital, and swallowing his competitors. Many of these methods are now standard practice; others were unique to their circumstances and unrepeatable; some were among the first things prohibited by the SEC when it came into being in the 1930s. [5:59] If he was exceptional, it was as a strategist. He had a certain

[00:00:00] He was raised on a farm and milked cows as a boy. He neither drank nor smoked. He was affable to every employee, from the head of the department to the humblest. He enjoyed his wealth quietly. He rarely lost his temper. Self-control was one of his most profound attributes. He was a quiet man, and when he spoke, his words were both few and carefully chosen. He rarely boasted, but once speaking for himself and his fellow capitalists, he said, We have made this country rich. We have developed the country. We have created the earning power by developing the system. When he died, the…

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