Dynasties ... Many people associate this word with kings and royal persons in robes, with attributes of state power ... But the article will discuss a different kind of dynasty, maybe not as ancient, but no less powerful. It will be about the surname of the great entrepreneurs and businessmen of the era of classical capitalism. In those days, large enterprises gave the owner such power, influence and power, which is comparable to the royal one. So, the largest dynasty of oligarchs is the Morgan. Who are they, what have earned their fame?
Dynasties
Financial dynasties are usually not numerous. At their source is the ancestor. That is, the founding father, a gifted businessman, lays the dynasty. Subsequently, it all depends on whether he was able to transfer entrepreneurial talents to his descendants or not.
In the first case, the state multiplies, but the direct descendant (son or daughter) works on the foundation laid by the father, and then, as a rule, the potential is exhausted. Descendants preserve business more by inertia than by reason and talents - this is in the best case, at worst - they lose their fortune. They bring the corporation to such a state that it is led by a team of managers, which replaces the main great and powerful entrepreneur.
Morgan - the richest dynasty of businessmen
For most Russians, the Morgan dynasty does not cause any memories and associations. However, in the United States, this surname is the most powerful financial group, whose corporations produce services and goods in an amount that is 5 times more than Russia's GDP.
Morgan owns about a hundred American enterprises. One of them is General Electric - an electrical engineering concern, whose branches are located in dozens of countries. Together with the Dupons, the Morgans own General Motors, an automotive company whose enterprises produce world-famous cars.
The article will discuss where the Morgan dynasty came from, its history, fate and tragedy. But you need to start, oddly enough, with a pirate distant past.
Ancestor
In ancient times, Henry Morgan was nicknamed the Cruel, he was born in England in 1635, and as a boy he fled to the Caribbean as a young man. Over time, he organized and led his own pirate team. His talent and courage made it possible to carry out daring attacks on Spanish cities and Panama.
He was distinguished by severe cruelty, ruthlessness, inhumanity. Always went under the flag of England. After the next Panama campaign, Morgan was arrested, but the English court did not dare to judge him, instead he was sent back, and assigning him the rank of vice governor of Jamaica.
Today there is no evidence that it was from the Cruel Pirate that the story of the Morgan family began. But a legend is a legend! Among other things, there is something in common between the Morgan Pirate and John Morgan, the greatest entrepreneur. Therefore, the version of kinship can be considered true, if not in terms of genealogy, then in a figurative sense for sure.
Dynasty founder
According to official sources, the founder of the Morgan dynasty was Junius Morgan. He was a decent man and gentleman, brought up in the strict spirit of Protestantism. His painstaking work became the foundation for the empire, which was headed by his son. Junius Morgan (1813-1890), being the son of a merchant, thanks to his intelligence and talents, became a partner of the famous businessman and entrepreneur of that time - George Peabody - in a company that helped make British investments in the US economy. In 1864, when Peabody retired, Junius Morgan became the sole owner of the company.
Continue and increase, or John Morgan
John Morgan (the son of Junius) became a symbol of the era of the formation of monopolies. His enterprise stood out for gigantism. He was an educated, strong-willed and intelligent person.
As a child, he was a very painful and weak boy, suffered from lupus, which greatly disfigured his face. Health problems formed his ability to overcome difficulties and obstacles.
He received an excellent education - he graduated from Gittingen University. At the age of 23, he headed the New York branch of his father's company (Junius Morgan).
In 1861, John Pierre Morgan founded JP Morgan & Co. This company initially served as the American office for the distribution and sale of European securities, the guarantor was the father's company, which was located in London.
At the same time, the US Civil War begins. Morgan's son and father organize military supplies. Their profits are growing, and the victory over the Confederation allowed to cross out and forget all the dark affairs of the company.
In 1870, the Franco-Prussian war in Europe begins. Father and son finance the French government on fairly favorable terms. But in 1871, France was defeated. And the Morgan company, taking advantage of the situation, takes over the French financial company Drexel, Harjes & Co, which is renamed Morgan, Harjes & Co.
In 1891, after the death of Junius, John becomes the head of a family business. He merges the Thomson-Houston Electric Company and Edison General Electric. The newly formed trust is called General Electric.
In 1895, during the financial and economic crisis in the United States, John Morgan contributes $ 62 million to the budget, thereby stabilizing the dollar, and from the state receives quite favorable privileges.
1901 is the peak of the Morgan-style financial and industrial association. John Morgan repeats exactly the history of General Electric and forms the US Steel steel trust, which became the first company in the United States with a turnover of more than a billion dollars. When creating this trust, Morgan took away the business from Andrew Carnegie, who was considered the steel king in the United States.
In the same year, Morgan founded the monopolist companies:
- International Harvester is a monopolist in the production of agricultural machinery and implements.
- International Merchant Marine is a monopolist in the shipping industry, one of whose firms built Titanic.
In 1912, the US government decided to “squeeze” John Morgan's business. He was called to Congress for a commission, where they began to question about the activities of his monopolies. He proudly told congressmen: “Money is not the main thing, the main thing in business is character. If I don’t believe a person, then he will never see money from me. ” Soon after, he dies while traveling to Rome, leaving his whole life to his son.
The personal tragedy of John Morgan
In his youth, John Morgan experienced a terrible personal tragedy that affected his life and health.
He was very successful in business, and deeply unhappy in his personal life. Most likely, he was engaged in affairs with such dedication to forget and less likely to remember his dead wife.
Some time later, he married a second time to Francis Louise Tracy. She bore him four children: three daughters and a son. But John was not drawn home, he loaded himself with work and was very rarely at home.
Legends circulated about him, they said that he could stay awake for several days in a row. He never forgot anything, he personally controlled the implementation of all his tasks and assignments, he was never late, he never lost sight of anything. He was ruthless to himself and to his subordinates. They said that no one could stand his gaze, as if he saw through a man, penetrated into the very depths of consciousness.
Heir
Jack Morgan, Jr., unfortunately, did not remember anything special. The era of monopolies, which gave birth to Morgan, Rockefeller, Ford and other great entrepreneurs, has sunk into the past. After his father died in 1913, Jack leads the company. He participates in financing the anti-German coalition, provides huge loans to Russia and France, and places military orders.
At the same time, the construction of Wall Street headquarters begins. But in 1920, the anarchist of Buda Mario blows up the office building: there were more than 200 wounded and 30 dead.
In 1935, legislation changed in the United States, and Morgan Jr. was forced to split JP Morgan & Co. This was the first high-profile forced section of an American corporation in the 20th century. This did not inflict a strong blow to the power of the Morgan dynasty, but they turned from kings into simply oligarchs.
Morgan today
Do Morgan exist today? Not capital and financial resources, but people? And if they exist, then what role do they play in the empire, have they retained their power and power, or, giving a name to a large financial and industrial trust, have gone into oblivion?
The founder of the dynasty, John Morgan, was known to millions of people. Legends made up his unbridled character, habits, cruelty, and arrogance. That is, he was known as a specific person. He was even given the nickname Corsair for his character and disposition.
But what about his descendants? There are names that are not perceived as the names of specific people. The surname Morgan belongs to this category. Today, few are familiar with members of this family, but many know very well what role they play in the political and economic life of the United States. It should be noted that photos of the Morgan family are indeed extremely rarely published in the press. Their faces do not flash on television, they do not give interviews for financial magazines.
What is the reason for such a facelessness of the current members of the Morgan dynasty?
When John Morgan died, the fortune passed to Jack, his son. He was the epitome of mediocrity. If Morgan Sr. possessed qualities for which he was nicknamed a pirate nickname, and his name did not go from the pages of newspapers and magazines, then practically no one knew the name of his son. Its main quality was the lack of personality. And when he died in 1943, obituaries were not able to say anything about the deceased, except for the astronomical figures of his condition, which, incidentally, are also associated with the entrepreneurial talents of his father. When Morgan, Jr. led the dynasty, the actual head of the enterprise was Thomas Lamont, whom Corsair assigned to his son, knowing his mediocrity.
Currently, representatives of the third and fourth generation of the family are in charge of the affairs. Very rarely in the section "Secular Chronicle" you can see images of the heirs of the Morgan dynasty. The photo reader can see below.
Who runs the business these days?
Morgan is the dynasty of the largest oligarchs. But now everyone owns the business ... and no one. The Morgans hold in their hands the vast capital of their empire. That is why everyone runs the business. None, because none of the members of the modern Morgan dynasty possess the power vested in Corsair.
The complex financial ties that are characteristic of modern monopolies, and the facelessness of modern descendants of Morgan Sr. have led to the fact that not one of them claims to be the sovereign and sole owner, and is not able to fulfill it.
Despite this, the descendants of old Morgan still play a prominent role in the world of American business. They occupy prominent posts in the structure of big business. But are they the owners of the case that bears their family name? Opinions differ on this score. In American economic literature, one often finds the judgment that the Morgans are no longer the same, that is, the surname remains, but the influence does not.
Actually in America there is a very fashionable theory of the “managerial revolution”. That is, business owners are not owners at all, but only very wealthy people living on dividends, and the real power passed into the hands of managers who actually manage enterprises and corporations and serve not so much their owners as shareholders. This is the so-called "democratization of capital."
Instead of a conclusion
People who bear the name Morgan today are part of one of the richest families in the world, but at the same time, it is increasingly believed that they are ordinary, mediocre, lacking business acumen and leadership abilities. They are unable to manage their gigantic business, which is a complex web that has entangled dozens of countries, hundreds of insurance companies and banks, industries and industries.
The Morgan is a symbol of modern capitalism. Their name will forever remain in the history of mankind, it is immortalized not only in the name of their corporation, but also in literature. American economist Lewis Corey is the author of Morgan. Dynasties of the Largest Oligarchs, Morgan’s first biography.
In his literary work, he tells the story of the formation of the financial and industrial empire of the Morgan since colonial times. In the book, the author gives examples of banker clashes with competitors, he talks about the methods, sometimes pirated, with which Morgan achieved his financial power. He talks about the history of the dynasty, the character of John Morgan, who led the House of Morgan to power and leadership, and thanks to which the term "organization" appeared.