1. Cornelius Vanderbilt
The First Robber Baron
-By: Nikko Schaff

2. Childhood
 Born May 27th, 1794 on Staten Island
 Family owned a large area of farming land on the island
 Worked on the farm as he grew up
 Found more of an interest in the transport and markets in Manhattan

3. Early Career
 At age sixteen, made a deal with his mother to plow eight acres for $1,300
 Used the money to purchase a sail boat
 Began to make a living transporting up to four people a day between the
islands
 Most of the city was downtown those days, giving him a large market in transport
 Contracted by the government to transport supplies to Hudson Bay forts
during the War of 1812
 Ferry work was still to profitable to give up, so he ferried in the day and transported
military supplies in the night
 Earned enough to construct two additional ships

4. Successful Events in his Career
 1817: Abandoned sails to join a steamboat corporation
 1830: United steamboat builders and led their construction and activity
 1854: Granted government subsidy for a route between America and England
 1854: Cheated by a Nicaraguan company
 Stated “Gentlemen, I will not sue you, for the law is too slow. I’ll ruin you”
 Created a competing transport company, destroyed Nicaraguan Transit
Co.
 1864: Bravely piloted a transport to the famous Union ironclad: the Monitor
 Saved the Monitor from future destruction

5. Vanderbilt’s Destructive Potential
Arises
 June 1860: Vanderbilt acquires the Pacific Mail Co.
 Gives him control of the majority of east and west coast transport
 Government demanded he be granted a partial subsidy for west
coast transport to be delivered without customer pay
 His losses would have amounted to a quarter million each voyage
 In retaliation, he ceased all steamboat transport operations for two weeks
 Only restarts activity after the government granted a full subsidy
 Therefore, Vanderbilt proved that the lack of government regulation
can greatly damage society.

6. How is that Important Today?
 Google is the most powerful company in the internet
 Stock is worth $500 per share
 Acts as the crux of information exchange
 Has 28 separate functions, including Gmail and Youtube
 Owns a web browser and an operating system (in development)
 Imagine a situation where Google reacted similarly…
 The internet would largely be inoperative
 Businesses requiring Google would crash
 A recession would be triggered

7. Late Life
 Bought millions in stock of Harlem construction
 Made profitable investments in the New York Central Railroad Co.
 Near the end of his life, he focused more on railroads throughout the
country
 Died on January 4th, 1877, at the age of 83

8. Bibliography
 1: www.justsharethis.com
 2: www.troop150.net
 3: www.clear.colorado.edu
 4: www.bjmi.us
 5: Commodore Vanderbilt’s Life”. NY Times, 5 January 1877.
 6: “Murdering the Mails” NY Times, 3 July 1860
 7: “Commodore Vanderbilt Accedes to the Terms of the Government” NY Times,
10 July 1860
 8: “ The Pacific Mails and their Master” NY Times, 4 January 1877