Modern Switzerland stands as a hub of business, trade and commerce. But it may surprise you to learn that this wasn’t always the case, with this only coming about thanks to the work of one man: Alfred Escher. The man behind numerous companies such as Credit Suisse, Swiss Life, Gotthard Read more…
Known by his much-hated moniker “Bid ’em up Bruce”, Bruce Wasserstein wasn’t your typical investment banker – he didn’t dress, talk or act the part – yet he was arguably the most influential investment banker in the history of the mergers & acquisitions industry! During his nearly 30 year-long career, Read more…
Though Marcus Goldman is the more famous of the two name partners behind Goldman Sachs, it was Samuel Sachs who turned it from a single office operation into a firm with a global reach and hundreds of clients across the country! A pioneer, Samuel Sachs redefined the term “investment banking” Read more…
Long before the Medici family were Popes, Princes and Dukes, they were wealthy bankers. Through their Medici Bank, founded by Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici, they became the premier banking house in Europe in the Middle Ages, long before the Rothschilds showed up… Indeed, it was Giovanni di Bicci de’ Read more…
Though the also Jewish Rothschild family are often touted as being the world’s most secretive banking family, that title should instead go to Brazil’s Safra family and their patriarch Jacob Safra, who was arguably the greatest banker no one has ever heard of. He was perhaps even a better banker Read more…
Early Life Frederick Henry Royce was born in the village of Alwalton, in Huntingdonshire, just five miles west of Peterborough on March 27 1863, as the youngest of five children born to flour mill owner James Royce, and his wife, Mary King Royce. Though his first name was legally Frederick, Read more…
Coming from humble beginnings as the son of Canadian immigrants, Walter Chrysler went from railroad engineer to general manager to automotive pioneer, and the driving force behind both the Chrysler Corporation and Chrysler Building, both of which bear his name. Early Life Railroad Career Automotive Pioneer Buick Willys Chrysler Corporation Read more…
Early Life John Clifton Bogle was born on May 8 1929 in Montclair, New Jersey as the youngest of two twins born to William Yates Bogle Jr. and Josephine Lorraine Hipkins, and went by “Jack” from an early age. Like many families, the Bogles were hit badly by the Great Depression that Read more…
Today, few people remember the name “Jacob Schiff” yet during the late 19th century and early 20th century, you would have to travel a long way to find someone who didn’t know his name. A contemporary of bankers like J. P. Morgan, Jacob Schiff was the foremost Jewish banker on Read more…
Today, Bank of America is one of the largest banks in the US (and the world for that matter!) Yet few actually know the story of Amadeo Giannini, the man who helped found it and turn it into the giant it is today! At the time, banks really only dealt Read more…