1. -
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2. Just five days
after the end of the Civil War,
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3. President Abraham Lincoln
is the final
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4. of the six hundred
thousand deaths
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5. in America's
bloodiest conflict.
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6. The country is divided,
and the world looks
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7. at American democracy
as a failed experiment.
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8. But what most don't realize
is that a new era has dawned.
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9. The nation is entering
an age of advancement,
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10. and from the void left by
the death of perhaps
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11. the greatest statesman
we will ever know,
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12. a new breed of
leader will emerge.
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13. The
Rockefellers, the Fords,
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14. the Carnegies, were the
first generation
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15. of what we know as now the
entrepreneurial rock stars,
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16. or what are
today are the Buffets,
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17. and the Jobs,
and the Gates.
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18. They were the ones that set the
standard for the American dream.
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19. They owned a new frontier—
literally and figuratively—
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20. of who we are
as a culture.
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21. Men of
insight, innovation,
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22. and ingenuity, the likes
of which the world
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23. has never seen, and over
the next five decades,
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24. this small group
will change history,
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25. propelling the United States
of America to greatness.
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26. These
were great men
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27. with a vision that
nobody else had.
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28. And that's why in
the last century—
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29. that fifty year period—
we built the world.
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30. -
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31. For the first
time in the country's
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32. short existence,
the man most capable
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33. of leading America
is not a politician.
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34. He's a self-made man, who,
through sheer force of will,
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35. turned a poor
upbringing on the docks
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36. of New York Harbor,
into an empire.
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37. At sixteen, Cornelius
Vanderbilt buys
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38. a small ferry boat with a
one hundred dollar loan.
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39. He quickly earns a reputation
as a cutthroat businessman,
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40. willing to use any means
necessary to get ahead.
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41. Back then, it
was just pure competition.
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42. My brain
against your brain.
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43. My effort against
your effort.
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44. You just competed.
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45. That's the way they
looked at business.
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46. It was the
Wild, Wild West,
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47. and by hook or crook,
it was just win or lose,
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48. and the best win.
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49. He was a tough guy.
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50. Getting into scraps
with other men,
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51. beating the hell out of them
and knocking them unconscious.
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52. That competitive streak,
and that toughness,
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53. very much defined
his character.
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54. His single
ferry soon becomes
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55. a fleet of ships, transporting
goods and passengers
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56. to every corner of the
growing country.
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57. Vanderbilt will become so
synonymous with shipping
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58. that his nickname
becomes "the Commodore".
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59. I think Vanderbilt
recognized
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60. that what was going to be
important is transporting goods
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61. from one place to another.
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62. And he had this idea that
required infrastructure,
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63. and not infrastructure the
government was going to provide,
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64. but that he
was going to provide.
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65. Over
the next forty years,
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66. Vanderbilt builds the largest
shipping empire in the world.
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67. Then, at the peak
of his power,
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68. just before the Civil War,
he does the unthinkable.
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69. Work is under way on the
first Transcontinental Railroad,
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70. and the
Commodore realizes
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71. that its completion will
transform America,
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72. slashing cross-country
travel time by months.
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73. H.W. Railroads were
absolutely liberating,
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74. because the rail roads
allowed cheap
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75. and efficient transportation
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76. from one corner of America
to another.
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77. Vanderbilt
sees his future.
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78. He sells all of his
ships and invests
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79. everything he has in rail roads.
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80. You talk
about seeing around corners
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81. as an
element of success.
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82. That's what differentiates
a good leader.
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83. Not many people have it.
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84. Not many people can
predict that corner.
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85. That is a characteristic
of great leaders.
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86. His decision to
invest heavily in rail pays off.
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87. By the end of the war,
Vanderbilt
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88. is the richest man in America,
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89. with a net worth of over
sixty-eight million dollars,
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90. the equivalent of seventy-five
billion today.
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91. But all that money can't
buy his escape
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92. from the war's devastation.
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93. In the wake of the Civil War,
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94. a country mourns publicly,
while Vanderbilt does so privately.
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95. The
first card is the past,
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96. the second, the present,
and the third is the future.
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97. There has been an
unexpected loss.
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98. Someone close to you.
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99. My son. George.
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100. He died in the war.
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101. What about the future?
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102. The chariot.
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103. There will be a war.
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104. The war's over.
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105. No. Your war is
about to begin.
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106. Hey-
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107. Watch it, man!
Copy !req
108. Tormented by
the loss of his favorite son,
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109. Vanderbilt's empire is more
vulnerable than ever before.
Copy !req
110. J.S. For Vanderbilt,
this is a great tragedy.
Copy !req
111. He had one son who
had that same sense
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112. of physical strength
and ability,
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113. and he had died when he
was still quite young.
Copy !req
114. It was deeply troubling
for the Commodore.
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115. For years,
Vanderbilt groomed George
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116. to take over the
family business.
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117. Now, the Commodore is
forced to rely
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118. on his less accomplished
son, William.
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119. I'm making you
operations director
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120. of the Hudson Railroad.
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121. Vanderbilt
places William in the midst
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122. of negotiations with the owners
of a rival rail road.
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123. So name your price.
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124. If you give us your
freight, year round,
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125. we will give you the privilege
of allowing your passengers
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126. access into Manhattan for
two hundred thousand.
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127. That privilege is
not worth two hundred thousand.
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128. Then let us settle
on one hundred thousand?
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129. I believe that to be a
fair and generous offer.
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130. I'm not really
interested in your generosity.
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131. I'm only interested in
getting the best deal
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132. for my shareholders.
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133. And that does not
include handing
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134. over one hundred thousand
dollars, or even one dollar.
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135. My father wants only
what he believes is right.
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136. The trouble is, your father
doesn't know what is right.
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137. The old man should be
put out to pasture.
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138. The
message is clear.
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139. The competition no longer sees
Vanderbilt as a man to fear.
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140. People
are always rooting
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141. for very successful
people to fail.
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142. The day people are not
taking shots at you means
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143. you're not on top anymore.
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144. But where
they see weakness,
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145. the Commodore sees
an opportunity
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146. to assert his dominance,
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147. and teach William what it means
to be a Vanderbilt.
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148. If
they want a war,
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149. I'll give them a war.
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150. Vanderbilt
owns the only rail bridge
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151. into New York City.
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152. It's the gateway to the
country's largest port,
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153. supplying the
entire continent.
Copy !req
154. Vanderbilt knows this is
the hammer he needs to beat
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155. his rivals
into submission.
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156. Sit down.
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157. I want you to close
the Albany Bridge.
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158. Without the bridge,
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159. every other rail road is
shut out of New York City.
Copy !req
160. J.S. Vanderbilt,
in essence,
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161. single-handedly erected
a blockade
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162. around the nation's largest
city, cutting it off
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163. from contact with the
rest of the country.
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164. He was now asserting
his dominance.
Copy !req
165. Ladies
and gentlemen,
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166. this train will not
be going any farther!
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167. We're gonna
watch them bleed.
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168. The Civil War
has left America in ruins.
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169. For the first time
in its history,
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170. the nation must rebuild.
Copy !req
171. Over fifty-thousand miles
of rail road track
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172. have transformed the country.
Copy !req
173. "Commodore" Cornelius
Vanderbilt grew up poor,
Copy !req
174. but has created a
rail road empire,
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175. making him the richest
man in the country.
Copy !req
176. At 72, he's thirty years past
the average life expectancy,
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177. and his competitors
see him as weak.
Copy !req
178. It's a mistake they'll
come to regret.
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179. Locked in a battle for
control of the rail lines
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180. east of the Mississippi,
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181. the Commodore is
holding nothing back.
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182. I want you to close
the Albany Bridge.
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183. We're gonna
watch them bleed.
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184. Vanderbilt
controls the only bridge
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185. into New York City,
America's busiest port.
Copy !req
186. Seizing an opportunity,
he sets up a blockade.
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187. -
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188. This train will not
be going any farther!
Copy !req
189. Shutting the
bridge leaves millions of pounds
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190. of cargo unable to reach
the rest of the country,
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191. and slowly bleeds
his competitors dry.
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192. Before their stock
is worthless,
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193. the presidents of the
rival rail road
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194. try to sell all their shares.
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195. Word quickly
reaches Wall Street,
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196. triggering a
massive sell-off.
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197. Come on, put some money
in that. Come on.
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198. New York Central
shares are dropping fast.
Copy !req
199. How low?
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200. $20 a share.
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201. Buy everything you can.
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202. T.J. Vanderbilt was
buying all of that stock
Copy !req
203. that suddenly flooded the market
at rock-bottom prices.
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204. Three aces.
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205. Ooh, that's good.
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206. In just days,
Vanderbilt takes control
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207. of the rival rail road,
creating the largest
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208. single rail
company in America.
Copy !req
209. J.S. The New York
Central rail road
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210. became the centerpiece
of his empire,
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211. and it came to him as
the sudden result
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212. of a skillfully executed
campaign to get revenge.
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213. Railroads
soon criss-cross America,
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214. tying together the
country in a way
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215. that just fifteen years
earlier was unimaginable,
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216. and providing
over 180,000 jobs.
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217. Laying tracks becomes
America's engine
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218. for unprecedented growth.
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219. H.W. Railroads
allowed the industrial economy
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220. to boom in ways that it
couldn't have before.
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221. One
advance after the other,
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222. which essentially was
led by the rail roads,
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223. largely because there was
a need to close the gap
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224. between those east
of the Mississippi
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225. and those on the West Coast.
Copy !req
226. Vanderbilt
has made himself
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227. the undisputed king
of rail roads.
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228. And now, he wants
the world to know it.
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229. He envisions a monument
that will symbolize
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230. his immense power.
Copy !req
231. Work will begin on
building a new station
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232. that will bring together
the three rail roads:
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233. the Harlem, the Hudson,
and the Central.
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234. It shall be in the
heart of New York,
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235. and be called the
Grand Central Depot.
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236. Thousands
of workers labor
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237. over the next two years,
on the most ambitious
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238. urban construction project
America has ever seen.
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239. Grand Central is the
biggest building
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240. in all of New York City, and
the biggest train station
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241. in the country, covering
some twenty-two acres.
Copy !req
242. T.J. This enormous
building towered
Copy !req
243. over every other building in
New York at the time.
Copy !req
244. And it was a physical
symbol of the size and power
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245. of Vanderbilt's
rail road empire.
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246. Its importance as
a physical symbol,
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247. as a physical capital
of his empire,
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248. cannot be underestimated.
Copy !req
249. And it still stamps New
York's geography to this day.
Copy !req
250. Vanderbilt
may be on top of the world,
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251. but his blind
ambition will soon make him
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252. vulnerable to a
challenge coming
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253. from the most unlikely
pair imaginable.
Copy !req
254. To Vanderbilt's money!
Copy !req
255. The growth
of the rail roads thrusts
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256. America into the biggest
building expansion
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257. the country has ever seen, led
by a new breed of leader.
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258. The story
of America
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259. isn't just the story
of the patriots
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260. that helped build
the democracy.
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261. The reason the United
States is a leading economy
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262. in the world is
because of the work
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263. of entrepreneurs who created
entire industries
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264. that propelled the United
States to be the leader
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265. of the free world.
Copy !req
266. One man,
Cornelius Vanderbilt,
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267. through brute force
and intimidation,
Copy !req
268. has made himself the undisputed
king of the rail roads.
Copy !req
269. He now owns forty percent
of America's train lines.
Copy !req
270. But he wants them all.
Copy !req
271. To me,
it's always "What's next?"
Copy !req
272. and I think that's what drives
most very successful people.
Copy !req
273. It's never
about the money.
Copy !req
274. I mean, that's a way
of keeping score.
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275. It's about achievement,
and it's about winning a game,
Copy !req
276. and it's about
upping the ante.
Copy !req
277. Chicago is
America's fastest growing city.
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278. The line connecting
it to New York
Copy !req
279. is the most traveled and
valuable in all the world.
Copy !req
280. And it's not Vanderbilt's.
Copy !req
281. To make his
empire complete,
Copy !req
282. he must gain control
of the Erie Line.
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283. The Erie was one of the
relatively early publicly
Copy !req
284. traded corporations.
Copy !req
285. Vanderbilt had
the advantage
Copy !req
286. of millions and millions
of dollars.
Copy !req
287. Deep pockets are always
an advantage
Copy !req
288. when you're trying to gain
control of a corporation.
Copy !req
289. Vanderbilt
instructs his agents
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290. to buy up as much
stock as possible...
Copy !req
291. ' Buying Erie!
Buying Erie!
Copy !req
292. demanding
control of the company
Copy !req
293. by the end of the week.
Copy !req
294. Erie at forty-five!
Copy !req
295. It's a
vintage Vanderbilt move—
Copy !req
296. one he pioneered—known
today as a "hostile takeover".
Copy !req
297. Erie, fifty!
Copy !req
298. But his
attempt will be thwarted
Copy !req
299. by an even more ingenious
idea cooked up by two unknowns:
Copy !req
300. Jay Gould and Jim Fisk.
Copy !req
301. All right.
Copy !req
302. The mistake that the
Erie Board have made is
Copy !req
303. that they have telegraphed
where they need to expand
Copy !req
304. without securing
the land first.
Copy !req
305. Gould
and Fisk are stuck
Copy !req
306. in middle-management
at the Erie.
Copy !req
307. But they represent the new
America that Vanderbilt
Copy !req
308. is helping to create.
Copy !req
309. One of self-made men
with ruthless ambition.
Copy !req
310. And after years of
watching the Commodore
Copy !req
311. dominate, they're eager
to build their own empire.
Copy !req
312. They recognize
Vanderbilt's plan
Copy !req
313. to buy the line, and
see the opportunity
Copy !req
314. they've been waiting for.
Copy !req
315. Competition, I think,
Copy !req
316. it's good for the system,
and it's really, I think,
Copy !req
317. what most
businesses is about,
Copy !req
318. is doing a better job, and
out-hustling your competitors.
Copy !req
319. Gould and
Fisk begin printing
Copy !req
320. new shares of stock,
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321. using a printing press
Copy !req
322. they set up in the basement
of the Erie offices.
Copy !req
323. Each share they print
dilutes Vanderbilt's stake
Copy !req
324. in the company, and they
print over one hundred thousand.
Copy !req
325. H.W. There was some
fine print in one of the clauses
Copy !req
326. of the Erie's
charter that allowed
Copy !req
327. the board of directors
to issue new stock,
Copy !req
328. unbeknownst to
the shareholders.
Copy !req
329. Go.
Copy !req
330. H.W. And so, the more
shares that Vanderbilt
Copy !req
331. bought, the more he had to
buy in order to approach
Copy !req
332. that magic majority.
Copy !req
333. Their plan is known
as "watering down stock".
Copy !req
334. Highly illegal
today, at the time,
Copy !req
335. it had never
been imagined.
Copy !req
336. Its simplicity
is brilliant.
Copy !req
337. And Wall Street
is never the same.
Copy !req
338. The only
rule was there were no rules.
Copy !req
339. Whatever it took to put
your competition
Copy !req
340. out of business, they were
gonna try to do it.
Copy !req
341. Unaware,
Vanderbilt continues to buy.
Copy !req
342. Think of the
look on his face.
Copy !req
343. Oh, God, I wish I could
be a fly on that wall.
Copy !req
344. The freshly
printed shares
Copy !req
345. are hand-delivered
to Vanderbilt.
Copy !req
346. Here are the
Erie shares.
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347. I assume we control
the company now.
Copy !req
348. - A toast!
- A toast.
Copy !req
349. To money!
Copy !req
350. To Vanderbilt's money!
Copy !req
351. Vanderbilt
has bought seven million dollars
Copy !req
352. of watered-down
stock from Gould and Fisk.
Copy !req
353. Today, worth over
one billion dollars.
Copy !req
354. Vanderbilt has been
underestimated before,
Copy !req
355. but if you
come at the king,
Copy !req
356. you shouldn't
expect to win.
Copy !req
357. The greatest growth
explosion
Copy !req
358. in America's short
life is underway.
Copy !req
359. Rail lines now connect
huge expanses of the country.
Copy !req
360. Controlling them means
having power
Copy !req
361. that just five years earlier
was unimaginable.
Copy !req
362. Many are staking
their claim.
Copy !req
363. I think
there are people
Copy !req
364. in every generation that have
a vision that, um,
Copy !req
365. transcends their
moment and their time.
Copy !req
366. "Commodore"
Cornelius Vanderbilt owns
Copy !req
367. more miles of rail than
anyone in the world.
Copy !req
368. But like all men of power, he
faces constant challenges.
Copy !req
369. Competition
gets very aggressive.
Copy !req
370. People have no idea
how aggressive it is.
Copy !req
371. And sometimes, you
don't even hear it,
Copy !req
372. because what goes on
behind your back
Copy !req
373. is not a pretty picture.
Copy !req
374. At the
height of his power,
Copy !req
375. Vanderbilt is outsmarted
by a pair of unknowns.
Copy !req
376. To Vanderbilt's money!
Copy !req
377. Jay Gould and
Jim Fisk have fleeced
Copy !req
378. the Commodore out of millions.
Copy !req
379. And they want the
world to know it.
Copy !req
380. Thank you,
don't mind if I do.
Copy !req
381. Now, it is no secret
what Vanderbilt
Copy !req
382. has been trying to do.
Copy !req
383. He owns more rail roads
than anybody else.
Copy !req
384. But Gould and me, we
have struck a blow
Copy !req
385. for the little guy.
Copy !req
386. Now, sure, he may
be rich, and sure,
Copy !req
387. he may be powerful, but
somebody had to stand up
Copy !req
388. to the old bastard.
Copy !req
389. T.J.It was a
humiliating defeat
Copy !req
390. for the Commodore, a man who
was so fiercely competitive,
Copy !req
391. who wanted to win at
absolutely everything,
Copy !req
392. to whom money
was so important,
Copy !req
393. and here he was, defeated,
and insulted publicly,
Copy !req
394. by Gould and Fisk.
Copy !req
395. Gould and
Fisk may be on top of the world,
Copy !req
396. but they've
awakened a sleeping lion.
Copy !req
397. Vanderbilt vows to
never be beaten again.
Copy !req
398. They
don't think in terms of money.
Copy !req
399. They think in
terms of winning.
Copy !req
400. Now, naturally, if you
win big in business,
Copy !req
401. money follows, but that
shouldn't be your objective.
Copy !req
402. Your objective
should be to win.
Copy !req
403. Win, win, win. All the time.
Not sometimes. Every time.
Copy !req
404. Vanderbilt
immediately begins
Copy !req
405. looking for a new edge.
Copy !req
406. He realizes that the rail roads
have been overbuilt,
Copy !req
407. and the future of the
industry isn't in building
Copy !req
408. new lines, but in
transporting new cargo.
Copy !req
409. Innovation
is not a big breakthrough
Copy !req
410. invention every time.
Copy !req
411. Innovation is a
constant thing.
Copy !req
412. And if you don't have an
innovate company
Copy !req
413. coming to work everyday to
find a better way,
Copy !req
414. you don't have a company.
Copy !req
415. You're getting ready
to die on the vine.
Copy !req
416. If Vanderbilt
can corner the market
Copy !req
417. on a new source of freight,
one that can keep his trains
Copy !req
418. constantly full, he'll
be able to control
Copy !req
419. the rail road industry.
Copy !req
420. And the Commodore knows
just where to look.
Copy !req
421. Oil is revolutionizing
life in America.
Copy !req
422. Crude from the ground
is being refined into kerosene,
Copy !req
423. a safe and
inexpensive source of light,
Copy !req
424. and that access
to light is completely
Copy !req
425. changing the way
Americans live.
Copy !req
426. Before kerosene, the
average American
Copy !req
427. didn't have access to a
consistent light source.
Copy !req
428. When the sun came
down, darkness ruled.
Copy !req
429. Kerosene is a phenomenon that
will forever change the world.
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430. And Vanderbilt knows it's
his next opportunity to cash in.
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431. The
idea is to see what's missing.
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432. That's what a creative
entrepreneur does,
Copy !req
433. he serves people
things that they need.
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434. Some people can't find
a new thing to do.
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435. But sometimes you see
something
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436. that everybody has to have.
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437. Oh men, I've got
to give them this
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438. And then you go
to work on it.
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439. Because they need it.
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440. Vanderbilt
sees the demand for
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441. kerosene skyrocketing
all across the country.
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442. He knows that to
meet the demand,
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443. the makers of
kerosene will need
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444. a new way to ship their oil.
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445. If Vanderbilt can corner the
market on those oil shipments,
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446. he'll propel himself
back to the top
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447. of the rail road industry.
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448. All he needs to do now
is find a supplier.
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449. We're gonna extend along the
south shore to Cleveland.
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450. Why Cleveland?
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451. Cleveland is
a small city
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452. of just under fifty thousand,
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453. but it's sitting on top
of an ocean of oil.
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454. Eastern Ohio is the
Middle East of its day,
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455. and the area around
Cleveland
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456. is one of the largest
oil fields in the world.
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457. Vanderbilt learns
about a refinery
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458. built near the rail roads
in Cleveland.
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459. The perfect mark
for his master plan.
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460. He reaches out
to the owner,
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461. a struggling young
oil man Vanderbilt
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462. is hoping to pluck
from obscurity.
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463. That oil man is
John D. Rockefeller.
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464. Why are we playing
so much in plumbers?
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465. We run a refinery.
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466. So, we start
making our own pipes.
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467. At this rate, we'll be lucky
if we break even this year.
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468. If you wanna call it
a day, John, just say.
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469. I should go.
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470. ls
everything all right?
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471. It's fine.
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472. At the
age of twenty-seven,
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473. Rockefeller is in the
early stages of building
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474. his refining business, but
his company is teetering
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475. on the verge
of bankruptcy.
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476. Vanderbilt sees him as
someone he can manipulate
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477. to his advantage.
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478. An exclusive deal to ship
Rockefeller's oil
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479. will guarantee that the
Commodore's trains
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480. stay filled with cargo.
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481. Vanderbilt invites
Rockefeller
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482. to meet with him in New York.
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483. For the young oil man,
the meeting
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484. is the opportunity
of a lifetime.
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485. A way out of his troubles,
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486. and a way to save his company
from complete collapse.
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487. T.J. Rockefeller,
he respected Vanderbilt.
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488. He could see what
he had achieved.
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489. Vanderbilt was setting the
pattern and the archetype
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490. of what Rockefeller
himself wanted to be.
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491. He wanted to be the
Vanderbilt of petroleum.
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492. That's the way
he saw himself.
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493. As
Rockefeller prepares
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494. for his trip to New York,
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495. Vanderbilt's plan
is set in motion.
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496. How long is
this going to take?
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497. Five to ten minutes.
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498. The train
departs Cleveland at 6:25 AM.
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499. America is rising.
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500. The country is experiencing
a period of growth
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501. like none it's ever seen.
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502. Railroads have
united the states,
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503. and commerce flows with a speed
never before thought possible.
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504. The man at the forefront
of this explosive change
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505. is Cornelius
Vanderbilt, but at 76,
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506. he realizes that the
rail roads have been overbuilt.
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507. To stay ahead of
the competition,
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508. the Commodore turns to a
new exploding industry,
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509. and a struggling young oil man,
John D. Rockefeller.
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510. Vanderbilt invites him to
New York City for a meeting.
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511. Fate intervenes.
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512. The
Lord is my shepherd.
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513. I shall not want.
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514. He maketh me to lie
down in green pastures.
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515. He restoreth my soul.
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516. John Rockefeller
narrowly missed the train,
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517. one that
would've carried him
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518. to his certain death.
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519. The close call has
a profound impact
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520. on the young oil man.
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521. He leadeth me into
paths of righteousness
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522. for His name's sake.
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523. Amen.
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524. A
man of deep faith,
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525. he becomes convinced that
God has spared him for a reason.
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526. H.W. Without thinking
that he himself
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527. in particular was chosen
by God to become
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528. this great business success,
Rockefeller believed
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529. that everything was
divinely ordained,
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530. so nothing happened in the
world without God's will,
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531. without God's blessing.
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532. Rockefeller
once again heads
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533. to meet with Vanderbilt
as a changed man.
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534. Where before he
was intimidated,
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535. and facing bankruptcy,
now he's a man of destiny.
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536. Cornelius Vanderbilt
may be the richest
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537. and most powerful man
in the country,
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538. accustomed to getting
what he wants,
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539. but he has no idea what
he's about to encounter.
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540. Every business is about
understanding people.
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541. Which people you
have to get through,
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542. which people you
have to embrace,
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543. which people you
have to jump over,
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544. which people you have
to push out of the way.
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545. That's the game.
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