Cornelius Vanderbilt's Impact On The Business World

Everybody wants to be rich, although not all have the opportunities, and of those, few have the ability, and even less have the drive. Among those few who have all four qualities, Cornelius Vanderbilt stands out as one of history’s best business tycoons and entrepreneurs. His natural drive and foresight gave him an edge that others lacked. Through his boyhood experiences, his own natural talents and unfortunate circumstances, he became one of the wealthiest men in the history of earth, leaving a lasting impact on society.

Born into a poor family in 1794, Vanderbilt worked with his father on his ship, transporting cargo to and from Staten Island and Manhattan, and helped his father out on their family farm. He was a sharp lad and, at sixteen,

He and his friends cleared the field, he bought the boat and repaid his mother. This story shows how, even at a young age, Vanderbilt knew how to get what he wanted.

The War of 1812 was a definite success as far as Vanderbilt’s fortune was concerned. He acquired a government contract that allowed him to supply the forts in and around New York with basic needs, such as food, blankets and guns. At this point, he was already well known for being a hard worker. From this venture, he was able to invest more money in his company and buy more ships. Starting with one small ship at the age of sixteen and later

In this, he proved he had much foresight, as this was the million-dollar idea of the century that made him only more wealthy, as railroads were the new steamships. As he saw the needs of America in transportation, he filled them. Be it steamships or railroads, he took risks in his own businesses and he was a great businessman . As he worked with railroads, his lines traveled west, helping settle the Northwestern part of the United States. T.J. Styles stated “This was a major transformation of the railroad network, which previously had been fragmented into numerous short railroads, each with its own procedures, timetables, and rolling stock. The creation of a coherent system spanning several states lowered costs, increased efficiency, and sped up travel and shipment times”(The First Tycoon Epic Life Of Cornelius Vanderbilt). While there were fragmented railway systems already in place, Vanderbilt bought and connected many of them, increasing productivity, and decreasing shipping times. In the midst of his final years, he built the Grand Central Depot or Grand Central Terminal. At the time, it was neither grand nor central, it showed, once again his ability in foresight. Since then, Grand Central Terminal has become one of the most well know terminals in history. Vanderbilt could tell that New York was expanding north and built the depot right where it would eventually be in central New York. The