Cornelius Vanderbilt - Captain of Industry

            Cornelius Vanderbilt was a man of worth. He took the $100 his parents loaned him and turned it to the $1,00,000 he was worth when he passed. Born in May of 1794 to a poor family Cornelius decided to change his fate at 16 with that $100 and bought a steamship. From that he began to carry passengers between Staten Island and New York. Cornelius was a hardworking man who started his business all by himself. He definitely deserved to be where he had been.
             Vanderbilt was not born rich by any means. Cornelius was a self-starter who made a steamboat company become a possibility in his teenage years. He became successful during the industrial era - the company was his life. After a while in steamboats, Vanderbilt moved on to railroads, a booming business at the time. He gained control of a number of railway lines operating between Chicago and New York and established an interregional railroad system. Cornelius, being the go-getter he was, would often buy out his competition, making him the only business to be expanding. Vanderbilt also began purchasing stock in the New York and Harlem railroad in 1862 and by 1863 he controlled the line to initiate a New York streetcar service. Although Cornelius Vanderbilt was a generous man who donated to charity and provided thousands of jobs, he treated his workers poorly. He would often give much longer hours with little pay. The working conditions were also poor. Vanderbilt was a very competitive person who typically wouldn't cheat his way to buying out competitors but would still make his workers work the long hours in the companies he bought. Being the boss man of a monopoly, his workers didn't have a choice but to follow him. However at the same time Cornelius created many job opportunities to many unemployed workers. This doesn't exactly balance his generosity with workers but some pay is definitely better than none. .
             Being a man of a monopoly, Cornelius spent his money only in ways where he would get more in return.