The history of the civil war in the United States has produced many new riches, among which there are three iconic figures, the oil tycoon John Rockefeller and the steel king Andrew Carnegie. This article will introduce the famous banker John Pierpont Morgan referred to as JP Morgan. There are three reasons that cause the success of J.P. Morgan: superior families, audacity, and unique perspective.

Firstly, JPMorgan’s success in his early years was due to the family providing him with an excellent education and a prosperous growth environment. For instance, Morgan was born into a wealthy family of American businessmen. J.P. Morgan grew up with his father’s deliberate cultivation. He continued to receive higher education before becoming a young adult and he was proficient in German and French (Klepp,1990). Due to the influence of family environment, Morgan has shown extraordinary business skills from an early age, and he has extraordinary judgment in investing, which has greatly helped his future career. Likewise, his family brought him many opportunities. Another example is that after Morgan graduated from college, he entered a commercial bank established by his father and took over his father’s bank three years later. He reorganized the company’s commercial structure and management to make it profitable. In addition, the reputation of Morgan as a banker and financier has also attracted the interest of investors for the company that took over (Garten, 1990). He made a lot of financial circle tycoons in his youth. Obviously, the family has greatly helped his career success.

Secondly, Morgan ‘s success caused by the fearlessly to any challenges. J.P. Morgan’s first success was inseparable from the Civil War. He did great business in arms during the war. On the other hand, in the early days of the Civil War, J.P. Morgan used his information to join hands with others to resell gold, but it was also investigated and severely criticized by the media. In addition, he also made a sum of money by selling cheaper rifles that people almost wanted to scrap and then selling them to the North at high prices after processing. But he was also condemned by investigations and public opinion. In the later period of the Civil War, J.P. Morgan made a big fortune by underwriting and buying the bonds issued by the Lincoln government, and enable himself stable in the financial industry (Garten, 1990). So, his revenue was pretty high during the post-war era, this behavior causes his business to evolve more and more successful(Ackman, 2002).

Lastly, another causes of success the J.P. Morgan is his unique perspective in investment. In his unique investment ability, J.P. Morgan successfully invested in many industries(Ackman,2002). In the early 19th century, General Electric was established to make his business more stable. In the late 19th century, when the railway industry experienced excessive expansion and fierce competition that caused many companies have the financial decline, Morgan actively participated in the reorganization and amend the railway company’s situation. In the process, he obtained a large number of stocks of railway companies, and it was estimated that he ultimately controlled. He under control the one-sixth of all American railway lines, Morgan have become the railway kings who are not railroad operators. At the beginning of the 20th century, J.P. Morgan successfully acquired the steel company of the then steel giant Andrew Carnegie and set up the American Steel Company in 1901(Garten, 1990). This made he have a great reputation on Wall Street and truly became a Wall Street tycoon.

All in all, J.P. Morgan’s success is not only that he has a superior family, but also cause he dared to take risks and not fear any difficulties. His success was not accidental, because of his fearless spirit and his ability to seize the opportunity, make him become one of the most famous bankers in American history.

Reference:

Dan Ackman. The 20 Most Influential Business Books. September 30, 2002.

Jeffrey E. Garten. Their street was paved with Gold. 1990

L.S. Klepp. The House of Morgan. March 09, 1990