← the founders library

The Robber Barons: The Great American Capitalists, 1861–1901

Matthew Josephson

Book content checked: . What this means

Buy a copy
Amazon USAmazon UKAmazon DE

These are Amazon affiliate links. I may earn a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Founder connections

  • Larry EllisonReported favorite
    In a first-hand account published on Steve Blank’s site on September 25, 2014, former Oracle marketing executive Kathryn Gould recalls Ellison naming Robber Barons as his favorite book.
    Source

Summary

Matthew Josephson’s history examines the financiers and industrialists who gained economic power in the United States after the Civil War. Its subjects include J. P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt and Jay Gould. It follows their careers as part of the wider changes of the Gilded Age, showing how a small group of capitalists helped shape American economic life.

  • SourceHarcourt publisher description via Google Books — The Robber Barons · Publisher description; title and author

Why read it Our view

Compare the industrialists’ methods of finance and consolidation in the historical account.

Written about

  • Andrew CarnegieFeatured in the history
    Josephson’s history examines Andrew Carnegie among the financiers and industrialists of the Gilded Age.
    Source
  • John D. RockefellerFeatured in the history
    Josephson’s history examines John D. Rockefeller among the financiers and industrialists of the Gilded Age.
    Source
  • J.P. MorganFeatured in the history
    Josephson’s history examines J. P. Morgan among the financiers and industrialists of the Gilded Age.
    Source