How Jacob John Astor Made History in the List of the Richest Men in the US

John Jacob Astor was an American businessman who was born in Walldorf, Germany in 1763. He went to Baltimore when he was 21; and he was penniless then. Later, he moved to New York where he traded musical instruments and furs.

Astor was known for ambition, concentration and shrewdness. These characteristics made him take lead in the growing US economy. He was known as New York’s leader in China trade and is best remembered for trading furs.

He established the American Fur Company in 1808, which later became the mother company of several subsidiaries including Pacific Fur Company and South West Company. Astor’s companies virtually created a monopoly of trades in US territories in the 1820s until his retirement in 1834.

When Astor died in 1848, he was the richest man in the US. His fortunes made his family prominent in the world of business. Astor House, his hotel business, became the forerunner of the hospitality industry in the US, which later also included the Waldorf-Astoria and Astor Hotel.

Part of the fortunes he left were used to establish the Astor Library.