Jp Morgan

Big Business Report
Axia College

   
      John Pierpont Morgan was a famous, wealthy American banker, industrialist and philanthropist. He was born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1837. His father was also a successful banker, and he provided Pierpont with a diverse, international education that included learning French, German, and receiving specialized training in math applied to commerce. J. P. Morgan completed his college education at Gottingen (John Piermont Morgan, 2010).Influenced and mentored by his father; J. P. Morgan chose a career in the financial industry and became an accomplished investment and banking genius. His first banking jobs were in bank branches that belong to his father and his father’s business associates (John Piermont Morgan, 2010). In 1871, he collaborated with financiers from Philadelphia and founded the New York firm of Drexel, Morgan & Company, which years later became J.P. Morgan & Co. (Van Der Walt, 2010). Through mergers, foresighted investments, and successful business practices, Drexel, Morgan & Company Morgan was able to monopolize the electric and steel industries, which were bastions of the urbanization and industrialization process the country was undergoing during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the case of the electric industry, Morgan supplied financial funding to Edison Electric Company; by 1892, he had orchestrated the merger of Thomson-Houston Electric Company with Edison Electric, thus creating General Electric Co. (Davidson, 2006). J. P. Morgan foresight in business can be observed in his strategic investment in the steel industry. After the Civil War, Morgan acquired many railroad companies; by 1900, he owned and operated 5,000 miles of railroads (PBS Online, 2009). The railroads needed large quantities of steel which motivated Morgan to invest in this nascent industry. His investments unleashed a ferocious competition between Andrew Carnegie and other steelmakers. In the end, one by one... [continues]

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