 Charles Michael Schwab |
| |
|
| Nickname: |
Thomas Edison referred to him as the “master
hustler.” |
| Background: |
Attended St. Francis College in Loretto, Pennsylvania. Got
his start in the steel industry by becoming a stake driver for Carnegie Steel Company in Pittsburgh
at the age of 16. |
| Market: |
Steel |
| Birthplace: |
Williamsburg, Pennsylvania in 1888 |
| Greatest Wealth: |
Estimated between $25 million and $40 million
($270,117,574 and $432,188,119, respectively, adjusted for inflation) before the
stock market crash of 1929. |
| |
|
| 1883: |
Married Emma Dinkey. |
| 1897: |
Became President of Carnegie Steel Company. |
| 1901: |
Negotiated the secret buy-out of Carnegie Steel by
a group of New York financiers, led by J. P. Morgan. Became President of the newly formed
US Steel Corporation, built upon the former holdings of Carnegie Steel. |
| 1903: |
After many clashes with Morgan and company executive
Elbert Gary over the inefficiency of US Steel, Schwab resigned and became head
of the Bethlehem Steel Company. Bethlehem Steel became the largest independent steel producer under Schwab’s
direction. |
| 1908: |
Bethlehem Steel began producing the H-Beam, the precursor
to today’s I-Beam, which brought the company its success. Schwab’s H-Beam revolutionized
the construction industry and gave way to the age of skyscrapers. Schwab also incorporated
the town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania as a virtual company town in which four villages
were united into one. |
| 1910: |
Workers at Bethlehem Steel went on strike and put
the company’s production on hold. Schwab brought in the Pennsylvania State Police to put
the strike to rest. Schwab was not only successful in breaking up the strike of 1910, but
he also kept labor unions out of Bethlehem Steel until after his death. |
| 1913: |
Schwab left Bethlehem for New York City, where he built “Riverside,” the
75-room mansion on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The mansion occupied an entire city block
and cost upwards of $7 million ($133,769,360 adjusted for inflation) to construct. |
| 1914: |
After the start of World War I, Schwab circumvented American
neutrality laws by funneling goods through Canada. Bethlehem Steel acquired the lucrative
contract for the Trans-Siberian Railway, requiring 65,000 tons of steel to be delivered,
after Schwab provided a $200,000 ($3,732,404 adjusted for inflation) “gift” to
the mistress of the Grand Duke Alexis Aleksandrovich. |
| 1915: |
Schwab became an international celebrity when he “broke
the bank” at the Monte Carlo casino, where he was known to blow tens of thousands of dollars
on high stakes gambling. While in Europe, Schwab traveled on a $100,000 ($1,842,252
adjusted for inflation) railcar, named the “Loretto.” |
| 1929: |
Following the crash of the stock market, Schwab became penniless
and lost most of his possessions, including “Riverside” which was seized by creditors. |
| 1939: |
Died in London, England with a debt of more than $300,000
($3,936,238 adjusted for inflation) to his name. World War II, which had begun just
weeks before Schwab’s death, eventually restored his estate’s holdings. |
| |
| Schawb on the cover of the November 22, 1926 issue of Time Magazine. |
 |
| |
| Schwab, with wife Emma, and Thomas Edison at a party during
the first World War. |
 |
| |
| Charles M. Schwab |
 |
| |
| |
Profiled by: Jacob Spencer |
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