Cornelius Vanderbilt was an American philanthropist and business magnate who made his fortune in railroads and shipping. Vanderbilt is well known for constructing the New York Central Railroad, making him one of the wealthiest people in American history. Cornelius was born into a poor family on Staten Island, New York, and dropped out of school at the age of 11 to work for his father in the ferry business. Following that, he purchased a yacht and began his own ferry company, which quickly became prosperous as a consequence of his economic skills. He then became a captain on a steam ferry between New York and New Brunswick after understanding the superiority of steam over sailing vessels. Following that, he established his own transatlantic steam-shipping company, which covered the majority of Hudson River commerce. Later, he shifted his focus more and more to the business of railroad expansion, which was gaining traction in the United States. He was a director, then president, of the New York & Harlem Railroad Company, where he brought a high level of precision to the company’s services. Later, when he became president of the New York Central railroad, he merged it with the Hudson River railroad, creating one of America’s first megacorporations. He was also a prominent philanthropist who provided a considerable sum for the development of Vanderbilt University and generously donated to local churches. Vanderbilt is widely regarded as one of America’s most successful businessmen, and he is often recognized for shaping the modern United States.
Childhood and Adolescence
Cornelius Vanderbilt was born to Cornelius van Derbilt, a seaman, and his wife, Phebe Hand, on May 27, 1794, in Port Richmond, Staten Island, New York. He had several siblings, but most of them perished when he was young.
Vanderbilt dropped out of school at the age of 11 and began working as a kid on his father’s ferry in New York Harbor. Vanderbilt planned to start his own ferry service when he was 16 and bought a yacht.
He started his own enterprise, ferrying passengers and freight between Staten Island and Manhattan in New York Harbor. His business thrived as a result, and he was able to secure a government contract to provide supplies to forts along the Hudson River during the War of 1812.
Between 1814 and 1818, he extended the firm by adding more boats to the Long Island Sound freight and passenger services, as well as the coastal trade from New England to Charleston, South Carolina.
In 1817, Vanderbilt surrendered his sailing vessels and began working as a steamboat captain in conjunction with Thomas Gibbons, operating a ferry service from New Jersey to New York, after noticing the advent of steam vessels in the marine transportation market.
The company grew and became one of the most well-known ferry services on the congested Philadelphia-New York City route. Vanderbilt founded his own enterprise in the 1820s, building steamships and operating ferry services around the New York area. He then expanded the company’s services to include the Long Island Sound, Providence, and Connecticut areas.
Vanderbilt’s company eventually controlled the majority of Hudson River commerce, and by the mid-1840s, he had a fleet of over 100 steamboats. He also ran a number of other companies at this time, including purchasing vast quantities of real estate in Manhattan and Staten Island.
Following that, he was involved in Central American projects and began directing a transatlantic steamship between New York and France. He founded the Atlantic & Pacific Steamship Company in 1859.
In the 1860s, Vanderbilt saw an opportunity and switched his attention from shipping to the railroad industry, which was seeing rapid growth in the United States. Following that, he bought and connected various existing railway lines around the country, forming an interregional railroad system.
In 1864, he bought a controlling interest in the Hudson River Railway and became its president the following year, after acquiring the Long Island Railroad. He later orchestrated the merger of the New York & Harlem and the Hudson Line.
Vanderbilt bought the Central Railroad in 1867 and combined it with the other railways he owned. He expanded his railroad empire over the next decade, purchasing the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, the Michigan Southern Railroad, the Canada Southern Railway, and the Michigan Central Railroad.
Cornelius’s Major Projects
In 1870, he merged two of his major lines to form the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, one of America’s first megacorporations.
The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway, which he purchased, was the first extensive train service between New York and Chicago. Following that, he bought a number of railroads, becoming the country’s greatest railway transportation system at the time.
Cornelius’s Philanthropic Contributions
Vanderbilt donated $1 million as seed money for what would become Vanderbilt University, which was named after him. It was, at the time, the greatest charity gift in American history. He also made significant financial contributions to the churches.
Achievements & Awards
For his enormous contributions to the railroad industry, Vanderbilt was inducted into the North America Railway Hall of Fame in 1999.
Personal History and Legacy
Vanderbilt married Sophia Johnson, his first cousin, in December 1813. They produced 13 children together and were married until Sophia’s death in 1868.
He married Frances Armstrong Crawford, a distant cousin from Alabama who was 45 years his junior, in 1869. Until Vanderbilt’s death in 1877, they were married.
After a protracted illness, Cornelius Vanderbilt died on January 4, 1877, at his residence in New York, leaving the majority of his assets to his eldest son, William. He was buried in the Moravian Cemetery in New Dorp, Staten Island, in the family vault.
Estimated Net worth
Cornelius Vanderbilt was an American corporate magnate and philanthropist in the nineteenth century, with a net worth of $185 billion at the time of his death in 1877.
After dropping out of school at the age of 11, Vanderbilt built a massive shipping and rail empire. Vanderbilt was an early investor in the United States’ fledgling railroad sector, establishing contacts in the water trade and eventually becoming the owner of the New York Central Railroad.