John Pierpont Morgan J. P. Morgan (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913), American financier and investment banker, dominated Wall Street corporate finance throughout the Gilded Age. As J· Leader of P. Morgan & Co., who was the driving force behind the wave of industrial consolidation in the United States spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
During his career on Wall Street, J. P. Morgan spearheaded the establishment of several prominent multinational corporations, including U.S. Steel, International Harvesters, and General Electric, all of which later belonged to J. Morgan. P. Morgan's regulation. He and his partners also own controlling stakes in many other U.S. businesses, including Aetna Life, Western Union, Pullman & Co., and 21 railroad companies. Thanks to J· P. Morgan's influence spanned top financial executives and members of Congress, and his dominance over U.S. finance enabled him to exert enormous influence over national policies and the market forces that underpin its economy. In the panic of 1907, he organized a union of financiers to save the American monetary system from collapse.
As a major financier of the Progressive Era, J. P. Morgan's dedication to efficiency and modernization has helped transform the shape of the American economy. Adrian Waldridge will J. P. Morgan described it as America's "greatest banker." In 1913, J. P. Morgan died in his sleep in Rome, Italy, at the age of 75, and was returned to New York with the flag lowered at half-mast on Wall Street. He left his fortune and career to his son, J. J. Jr. P. Morgan. Biographer Ron Cherno estimates his fortune at $80 million (equivalent to $2.19 billion in 2021).
