1763-1848 Financier, Real Estate Magnate

Arrival. On the occasion of John Jacob Astor's death in 1848 the New York Herald described him as a "self-invented moneymaking machine." By that time Astor had become the prime exemplar of America as a land of boundless opportunity, where anyone could go from rags to riches, a place where poor boys could make good. Astor rose high indeed from where he started, arriving in New York from his native Germany in 1783 almost penniless. The young immigrant made up in intelligence and ambition what he lacked in funds. Astor started as a clerk for a New York-based fur-trading company but soon ventured into trading on his own. Whatever profits he managed to squeeze out of the fur business he quickly channeled into Manhattan real estate.

Fur Business. In 1808 Astor organized the American Fur Company to take advantage of the high demand...