Cornelius Vanderbilt — Railroads, Shipping, "The Commodore"

**Cornelius Vanderbilt** was the original American tycoon — a man who started with nothing, built the largest fortune in the United States, and did it twice in two different industries. Born in 1794 on Staten Island, New York, to a poor Dutch farming family, he quit school at 11, borrowed $100 from his mother at 16 to buy a small sailing vessel, and began ferrying passengers and cargo around New York Harbor. By sheer competitive aggression, he built a steamship empire that dominated water transportation on the East Coast and the routes to California during the Gold Rush. Then, in his 60s — an age when most men retire — he pivoted entirely to railroads and built an even larger empire, consolidating the New York Central Railroad system into the most powerful transportation network in America.