100 Entrepreneurs Who Changed The World
10. Cornelius Vanderbilt 1794- 1877
“I have always served the public to the best of my ability. Why? Because, like every other man, it is to my interest to do so.”
Cornelius Vanderbilt, or the Commodore as he was known, was an American business magnate and industrialist. Vanderbilt’s wealth came from the construction of America’s railroads, using Carnegie steel, often transporting Rockefeller oil. The three magnates, along with financier JP Morgan, are truly titans of American industry that transformed the still young nation and then the world. Shipping and transportation were the Commodore’s chief concerns. But, like many of the industrial era giants, he was a leading philanthropist. He provided the initial money for Vanderbilt University, which was named in his honor.
