JULES BACHE (1861-1944)
Bache began his career as a cashier in a brokerage house and went on to head one of the top firms in the United States. He was an avid collector of art, donating many renowned paintings to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
WILLIAM A. CLARK (1847-1911)
Mining magnate and politician. One of the 50 richest Americans of all time, Clark made a fortune in mining, railroads, banking, newspapers, and other enterprises, and served as U.S. Senator from Montana from 1899-1900 and 1901-1907.
WILLIAM C. DURANT (1861-1947)
Durant was a leading pioneer in the development of the American automobile industry. Durant was the first to use vertical integration in manufacturing and invented North America’s first franchise dealer network for automobile sales. The brilliant entrepreneur co-founded General Motors and Chevrolet.
JAY GOULD (1836-1892)
The term “robber baron” is often associated with Gould, a financier and railroad developer. He amassed an enormous fortune through aggressive stock trading and corporate acquisitions. Lyndhurst, his Gothic style mansion, overlooks the Hudson River in Tarrytown, New York.
COLLIS POTTER HUNTINGTON (1821-1900)
One of the “Big Four” of the Central Pacific Railroad, Huntington was a primary investor in the development of it as part of the country’s first transcontinental railroad. He was a great philanthropist—many schools, parks and institutions are named in his honor.
AUGUSTUS JUILLIARD (1836-1919)
Banker and industrialist who bequeathed the bulk of his multi-million dollar fortune for the advancement of music in the U.S. His will included gifts to hospitals, museums, and other charitable causes, but the vast majority of his estate was designated for music education.
ROBERT LEHMAN (1891-1969)
Head of Lehman Brothers Investment Bank, racehorse owner, art collector, and philanthropist. The Robert Lehman Collection is one of the most distinguished privately assembled art collections in the United States.
ROWLAND H. MACY (1822-1877)
Macy, the founder of one of America’s best-known department stores, started with a chain of dry goods stores in Massachusetts. He later moved to New York and opened a store on Sixth Avenue and 14th Street, marking the start of a retail empire.
JAMES CASH PENNEY (1875-1971)
Penney opened his first store in Kemmerer, Wyoming, in 1902, calling it the Golden Rule to promote its fair treatment of customers. Eventually, his chain of successful stores became J.C. Penney (or Penney’s), now known as JCPenney. There are over 1100 locations in operation today.
JOSEPH PULITZER (1847-1911)
Best known in regard to the eponymous prize awarded for excellence in journalism, Pulitzer was a newspaper publisher who ran publications in New York and St. Louis. He was a major contributor to the New York Philharmonic and established the Columbia Journalism School.
MIHAJLO PUPIN (1854-1935)
The Serbian American physicist, chemist, and philanthropist is remembered for his groundbreaking work in the field of electromagnetism and his relentless pursuit of innovation. Pupin devised a means of greatly extending the range of long-distance telephone communication by placing loading coils at predetermined intervals along the transmitting wire. Pupin received the 1924 Pulitzer Prize in biography for his autobiographical work “From Immigrant to Inventor” (1923).
ISIDOR STRAUS (1845-1912)
The co-owner of Macy’s Department Store was one of the wealthy travelers who died when the RMS Titanic was lost at sea. Straus briefly served in the U.S. House of Representatives.
MADAM C .J. WALKER (1867-1919)
Born in Louisiana, Walker was the child of former slaves who developed hair care and beauty products for African American women. She amassed a sizable fortune by training customers to use her products, eventually moving to New York, where she became known as America’s first female self-made millionaire.
William Webb (1816-1899)
New York City shipbuilder and designer who has been called America’s first true naval architect. The successful shipbuilder, shipowner, and educator founded the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture.
F.W. WOOLWORTH (1852-1919)
The founder of the famous “five and dime” stores operated hundreds of retail outlets in America and Europe. In 1913, Woolworth commissioned the New York skyscraper that bears his name, once the tallest building in America.