Despite being often forgotten today, Henry J. Kaiser was one of the most unusual and diverse entrepreneurs in American history. Quitting school at the age of thirteen, Kaiser started out in the photography business in New York State. But like many others, he was drawn...
The American railroad system played a critical role in the growth and development of the United States, especially the opening of the western frontier. The western railroads, which continue to serve society today, were often built with massive land grants and...
His father owned a machine shop, but young George Westinghouse had no interest in doing what he was told. Obsessed with his own inventions and ideas, George earned his first patent at the age of nineteen. When he died forty-eight years later, he held over four hundred...
Along with five younger siblings, Adolph Ochs was raised in poverty in Knoxville, Tennessee, by his scholarly but financially unsuccessful father and inspirational mother. In 1869, at the age of eleven, he developed an interest in the newspaper business, delivering...
One of the myths about great entrepreneurs is that they love risk and are big gamblers. In fact, they usually do everything they can to reduce risk and are rarely true gamblers. But there is always an exception to the rule. This is the story of one of those...