Greatest Businessman Ever

It's Andrew Carnegie and it's not even close. The guy started with zero. Parlayed it up to $350 Million (in 1910 dollars) while helping build America through his gigantic steel company and railroad investments. Then giving everything he had earned away in the form of libraries all over the country.

Who is your choice as the greatest businessman ever? Bill Gates? Sam Walton? Henry Ford? Jobs and Wozniak? Trump? Edison?

[Sponger15SB]

Shouldn't Warren Buffet be on that list?

[Phoenix1010]

http://img303.imageshack.us/img303/2453/mrburns9ie.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[RacersEdge]

[ QUOTE ]
Shouldn't Warren Buffet be on that list?

[/ QUOTE ]

What business did he dominate?

[deadmoney98]

[ QUOTE ]
Shouldn't Warren Buffet be on that list?

[/ QUOTE ]

He is the list.

[IronDragon1]

J.P Morgan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.P.Morgan)

[IronDragon1]

http://www.msyf.com.ar/imagenes/famosos/3F23AlbertBrooks.jpg

Well if we're going to be like that....

[rusellmj]

Gates musst have taken a page from that guy. I think his foundation builds libraries. Which is cool cause my local library, which is in one of the better neighborhoods here, can't even afford to stay open on Fridays.

[TheMainEvent]

http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,86517,00.jpg

[Phoenix1010]

http://img317.imageshack.us/img317/8660/scrchi2jw.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[RacersEdge]

Rockefeller

Howard Hughes

Ray Croc

Watson (IBM founder I think)

[IronDragon1]

http://www.houseofcomics.com/images/MN4386.gif

[IronDragon1]

http://www.reelclothes.com/chairman.jpg

[fluxrad]

OMG! POTD!

p.s. - you owe me a new keyboard.

[Dynasty]

[ QUOTE ]
OMG! POTD!

p.s. - you owe me a new keyboard.

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe he can buy you a sense of humor. It'll save you more keyboards in the future.

[lem45216]

http://www.failuremag.com/images/wonka_wilder.jpg

[bholdr]

Carnegie lived and earned in an era with far less gov regulation- environmental protection laws, equitable labor laws, antitrust laws, etc. it would be much much harder for a person like him to build an empire like that today. basicly, he was good at leveraging capital... and even at that he was outdone by rockefeller.

my vote would be for Henry Ford, he didn't just make a pile of money; he completly revolutionized industry worldwide with the implementation of the assembly line, better pay for his workers, etc.

[GuyOnTilt]

Re: being successful on this type of scale (and more specifically historically speaking), how much of "being successful" has to do with being the guy who ran well at the very upper amplitudes of variance/luck?

GoT

[beta1607]

Jack Welch is the greatest CEO of the last 50 years and Sam Walton is the greatest self made business man of the last 50 year. It is hard to say who is the greatest ever due to changing governtment effects on the business climate.

[WLVRYN]

[ QUOTE ]
http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,86517,00.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]

Clearly this is the answer. Have you seen "The Girls Next Door"?

[trevor]

[ QUOTE ]
http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,86517,00.jpg

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NH

[Roybert]

[ QUOTE ]
Jack Welch is the greatest CEO of the last 50 years.

[/ QUOTE ]

Herb Kelleher at least deserves a seat at that table.

[fluxrad]

[ QUOTE ]

Maybe he can buy you a sense of humor. It'll save you more keyboards in the future.

[/ QUOTE ]

Who peed in your cheerios this morning?

[scotty34]

[ QUOTE ]
http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,86517,00.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]

http://www.101lifestyle.com/images/celebs/melania_knauss/melania-knauss-001.jpg

http://www.101lifestyle.com/images/celebs/melania_knauss/melania-knauss-003.jpg

Trump doesn't do too badly in that department either.

[jakethebake]

Read Titan. It's a John D. Rockefeller biography. Very good.

[istewart]

Sam Walton's kids.

[jakethebake]

You need to define businessman. Are you talking entrepreneur? Dealmaker? Manager/operator? Financier?

[istewart]

If you're going by pure money it's obviously Rockefeller. I'm not sure what the real question is.

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
Rockefeller

Howard Hughes

Ray Croc

Watson (IBM founder I think)

[/ QUOTE ]

Cornelius Vanderbilt
Jay Gould
J.J. Astor

should also be on the list.

[istewart]

Vanderbilt. Good one.