John Jacob Astor
The first multi-millionaire in the United States, who built his fortune on fur, opium, and New York real estate.
John Wesley Jarvis · via Wikipedia: John Jacob Astor · Public domain
John Jacob Astor was a German-born American businessman who became the first multi-millionaire in the United States through fur trading, opium exports, and New York real estate investments.[1] He died in 1848 as the wealthiest person in the country, with an estate estimated at $20 to $30 million.[2]
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Johann Jakob Astor
- Born
- 17 July 1763
- Birthplace
- Walldorf, Electoral Palatinate, Holy Roman Empire
- Died
- 29 March 1848
- Place of death
- New York City, U.S.
- Burial place
- Trinity Church Cemetery
- Occupation
- Businessman
- merchant
- real estate mogul
- investor
- fur trader
- Known for
- First multi-millionaire businessman in the United States
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
He moved to London at age 16 to join his brother at a piano and flute manufacturer, where he learned English and anglicized his name.[3] He established the American Fur Company in 1808 with President Thomas Jefferson's permission.[4] He joined the opium smuggling trade in 1816, shipping Ottoman-produced opium to Canton.[5] After declining fur demand, he sold his fur interests in 1830 and invested heavily in Manhattan real estate.[6]
During his ocean crossing, an encounter with a fur trader sparked his interest in joining the North American fur trade.[7] Fort Astoria, a trading post he established on the Columbia River in April 1811, represented the first U.S. settlement on the Pacific coast.[8] Astor passed away on March 29, 1848, in New York City, and his remains were interred at Trinity Church Cemetery.[2]
What the cited sources add
The Oregon Encyclopedia account notes that Astor organized the Pacific Fur Company in June 1810, confident he could profit from a New York–London–China trading grid.[9] The Notable Biographies source reports that Astor's ship became stuck in ice for two months on his voyage to America, during which he met a German man who told him about fur trading profits.[10] That same source says Astor made trips to western New York in 1784 and 1785 to buy furs for his employers.[10] It also notes that Morgan Martin bought land from Astor in 1837 to build the Hazelwood estate.[11]
According to the OnMilwaukee article, John Jacob Astor laid out the Town of Astor in 1835, which subsequently merged with Navarino to create the Borough of Green Bay.[11]
References
- Wikipedia, "John Jacob Astor" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Wealthiest Historical Figures and How Much They Would be Worth in Today's Dollars", TitleMax, January 30, 2019; "America's First Multimillionaire", Smithsonian Institution (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "John Jacob Astor" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Parton, "Life of John Jacob Astor: To which is appended a Copy of his last will", The American News Company, 1865, p. 81; Madsen, "'John Jacob Astor: America's First Multimillionaire", John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2001 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "John Jacob Astor" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Madsen, "'John Jacob Astor: America's First Multimillionaire", John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2001; Ebeling 1998 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "John Jacob Astor" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "American Fur Company". Encyclopedia Britannica (2018), https://www.britannica.com/topic/American-Fur-Company. Accesse; Madsen, "'John Jacob Astor: America's First Multimillionaire", John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2001; Morris, "Astor Expedition (1810–1813)", The Oregon Encyclopedia, March 24, 2022 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "John Jacob Astor" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Opium Kings: Opium Throughout History", Frontline (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "John Jacob Astor" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Madsen, "'John Jacob Astor: America's First Multimillionaire", John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2001 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "John Jacob Astor" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "John Jacob Astor Biography – life, family, childhood, death, mother, son, old, information, born, house", Notable Biographies (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "John Jacob Astor" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Madsen, "'John Jacob Astor: America's First Multimillionaire", John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2001; Morris, "Astor Expedition (1810–1813)", The Oregon Encyclopedia, March 24, 2022 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Morris, "Astor Expedition (1810–1813)", The Oregon Encyclopedia, March 24, 2022. facts only, no text reused. oregonencyclopedia.org
- "John Jacob Astor Biography – life, family, childhood, death, mother, son, old, information, born, house", Notable Biographies. facts only, no text reused. notablebiographies.com
- "Astor Street neighborhood home to Green Bay history", OnMilwaukee, February 3, 2008. facts only, no text reused. onmilwaukee.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article John Jacob Astor (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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