Cornelius Vanderbilt
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Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt was a business magnate from the United States of America. He was born in 1794 and later died at the age of 82. He grew up in New York City, where he started a passenger ferry business with one boat in New York harbor at the Hardison river. Later he started his own steamship company to control traffic at the Hudson River. Also, he started the railroad between Chicago and New York. He was the richest man on American soil during his death, worth about $100 million. He is remembered for shaping the current state of America.
During his early life in Business, Cornelius had partnered with Gibbson to start a steamship business, where he learned managing commercial operations. The duo started ferrying passengers between New Jersey and New York. Still, it ended up having a lawsuit at the supreme court for violating the monopoly rule that gave congress the sole authority to conduct inter-state trade. His style of leadership was driven by hard work and determination. His sharp business acumen made him known all over New York and the United States when he created his profitable shipping line that defeated all his competitors, causing them to shut down their business. His main objective was to offer services to the citizens and make profits.
Cornelius was married to her wife Sofia, with who they had 11 children. Despite being very successful in business, he was a terrible husband and father. He was a renowned misogynist who paid very little attention to his daughters and disliked them. He is believed to use prostitutes to cheat on his wife, Sophia. He is also believed to cause his wife and son to commit a lunatic asylum.
The major driving and motivating factor were the many opportunities that existed in the shipping industry. He saw massive potential in the new technology of steamship that came to replace the one boats. That motivated him to expand his business and reduce the traffic of people crossing the river. He is believed to have offered the cheapest fares of all time, motivated by president Andrew Jackson who recognized his services as a people’s line (Shea, 2016). A significant number of people earned him good money. He continued to implement the same idea of cheap fares to the people, and later the same idea made him a millionaire. However, that never earned him respect in society.
Cornelius can be described as an innovative manager ready to make money where there was an opportunity. He became interested in steamship because of its new technology; therefore, he loved innovation. He believed more in disruptive innovation. He is believed to have acquired the steamship, outrun all his competitors, and pushed them out of business.
The success of Cornelius was based on planning and organizing. He came up with the plan of ferrying passengers with his small boat on the Hudson River. With the increased traffic, he saw the need to acquire a giant ship and planned how to operate. After his friend Gibson’s death, he was left alone to organize the business, and he was so much successful. The character faced many business challenges, including lawsuits, but he kept his spirit high and started new things when others failed. He was dedicated more to service to people than profits, which eventually made him a millionaire.
Reference
Shea, T. M. (2016). Cornelius Vanderbilt and the Railroad Industry. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc