Shrewdness Has a Price to Pay

Ian Robert Maxwell was a British media man. He also served in the British Parliament. From poverty, Maxwell worked hard to build one of the largest publishing empires in the world.

Maxwell was born in Czechoslovakia. He was a decorated member of the British Army who fought during the World War II. When the war was over, Maxwell built the Pergamon Press which eventually became a major publishing house. He served in the Parliament for six years, after which he focused on his publishing business again. He had a series of acquisitions, which included the Mirror Group Newspapers, British Printing Corporation and Macmillan Inc.

Controversies embroiled Maxwell while he lived a flamboyant lifestyle. One of the major controversies attached to him was his support for Israel when the nation was fighting in the War of Independence in 1948. Maxwell sold Pergamon Press, one of his more successful businesses, to pay for his huge debts.

Maxwell’s dead body was found floating in the Atlantic Ocean in November 1991. Reports said he fell overboard his yacht. His death uncovered fraudulent misappropriations in his companies’ finances. His sons struggled to keep his businesses going. In 1992, his companies applied for bankruptcy.

Of Mars Bar, M&Ms, and More

Forrest Mars Sr. was the American entrepreneur responsible for leading the Mars candy empire. His products, which are loved until today, included Mars bar, M&M’s, and Uncle Ben’s Rice. He was privileged to have been born to the family of the founder of Mars Inc., Frank Mars.

Mars was born on March 21, 1904 in Wadena, Minnesota. His parents divorced when he was a boy and he lived with his mother. He spent his boyhood in Saskatchewan, Canada.  After finishing his high school, Mars attended the University of California, and later moved to Yale University. He finished his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering at Yale in 1928.

After many years, Mars was reunited with his father when he began working at Mars Inc. But the two had a serious disagreement later because the son wanted an international expansion but the father did not. In 1933, Mars took a buyout from his father. Afterwards, he moved to England and developed the Mars bar. In the process of developing the Mars bar, Mars worked with Tobler and Nestlé in Europe.

Mars returned to the US established Food Products Manufacturing, his food business. He also established a gourmet food company which he named Pedigree. During this time, Mars developed the Uncle Ben’s Rice line.

Later on, Mars partnered with Bruce Murrie and the duo developed M&M’s, which Mars patterned after a candy he discovered in Spain in the 1930s.. The new candy line carried a very effective marketing strategy embedded in a one-sentence tag line: “Melts in your mouth, not in your hands.” In 1954, Mars introduced a derivation of the M&Ms, the Peanut M&Ms. When his father died, Mars took over Mars Inc. In 1964, Mars merged Mars Inc. with his own company and expanded his candy business to become one of the most popular candy empires in the world.

Mars decided to retire in 1973. He bequeathed Mars Inc. to his children. While in his retirement home in Henderson, Nevada, Mars founded Ethel M Chocolates in honor of his mother. In 1988, Mars Inc. purchased Ethel M.

Remembering the “Big Bonanza”

John William Mackay was an American industrialist who was known to be one of the Bonanza Kings which capitalized the wealth produced by the silver mines in Comstock Lode. Mackay was born in Dublin, Ireland on November 28, 1831. His parents moved to New York City when he was a boy.

Mackay went to Sierra County, California in 1851to work in placer gold mines. In 1859, Mackay decided to transfer to Virginia City, Nevada. He lost all his savings from his California job, so Mackay partnered with James Graham Fair, William O’Brien and James Flood. These four businessmen were later known as Bonanza Kings. They operated the Comstock Lode silver mines. They discovered a huge cache of silver ore in 1873, which was known as “big bonanza.” The Bonanza Kings founded the Bank of Nevada later on.

In order to expand his fortunes, Mackay diversified in other businesses. He was the co-founder of Commercial Cable Company. He also founded the Postal telegraph Company in 1886. Through the Pacific, Mackay established the Commercial Pacific Cable Company.

Mackay died on July 20, 1902 because of heart failure.

Daniel Ludwig: Rising to the Top of the Shipping Business

Daniel Keith Ludwig was an American shipping magnate. As a billionaire, he was one of the wealthiest Americans of his time. Despite his wealth and his business operations in 23 countries, Ludwig maintained a low profile life, so that little was known about his accomplishments.

Ludwig was born in South Haven, Michigan on June 24, 1897. His parents separated when he was 15 and his father sent him to live with his aunt and uncle in Port Arthur, Texas. His mother was left in South Haven without support and what happened to her after her separation with her husband remained unknown.

When he was 9 years old, Ludwig salvaged a 26-foot boat. This was his first exposure to shipping. After his eighth grade, Ludwig left school to work in a number of shipping-related jobs. These may be odd jobs, but he learned machining, marine engineering and ship handling with the jobs. During his stay in Port Arthur, Ludwig sold supplies to steamers and sailing ships. When he returned to South Haven, he worked in a marine engine plant which gave him opportunities to work in Alaska and Pacific Northwest.

At 19 years old, Ludwig started his fortunes in shipping when he transported molasses within the vicinity of the Great Lakes. Later, he acquired financing through pre-agreed charters as collateral and started constructing tankers. He established the National Bulk Carriers, which was known as one of the largest shipping companies in the US.

With the growing demand for new ships during the World War II, Ludwig constructed ships using welding instead of riveted – an approach that saved precious time during the War. When the War was over, Ludwig’s ships were converted to tankers that transported oil to many countries. In the 1950s, Ludwig became popular as the producer of oil supertankers.

Ludwig’s fortune grew larger when he diversified into banking, real estate, insurance, cattle ranching and oil refinery. With his foreign assets, Ludwig established the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in 1971.

In his will, Ludwig hoped for establishment of more Ludwig Centers. In 2006, Ludwig Centers were put up in six US research institutes.

Henry Luce: What Influence Means

Henry Luce was an American publisher who was known as “the most influential private citizen in the US of his day.” He built an empire of magazines which became instrumental in changing and shaping journalism and the reading habits of upper class Americans. Among the most popular brands of Luce’s magazines included Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated. All these magazines are still in circulation today.

Luce was born on April 3, 1898 in Tengchow, China. His parents sent him to US when he was 15. He studied at Hotchkiss School where he became the editor of Hotchkiss Literary Monthly. He took his college education at Yale College where he met Briton Hadded who became his wife. Luce and Ladden worked for The Yale Daily News.

When they were both aged 23, Luce and Hadden brainstormed and discussed the concept of a news magazine. 1922, the couple founded Time Inc. and published the magazine’s first issue on March 3, 1923. Their other magazines followed shortly: Fortune in February 1930, Life in 1934, House & Home in 1952 and Sports Illustrated in 1954. His first newsreel was The March of Time.

Francis Cabot Lowell and The Coming In of the Industrial Revolution in America

The Industrial Revolution in the United States in the 19th century was ushered in through the dedication of an American businessman named Francis Cabot Lowell. The city of Lowell, Massachusetts was named after him.

Lowell was born on April 7, 1775 in Newburyport, Massachusetts. His father, John Lowell II, served in the Continental Congress and became a judge for the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts. His mother’s name was Susanna Cabot.

After graduating from Harvard College, Lowell boarded a merchant ship loaded with cargoes to Bordeaux, France. In spite of his family’s anxieties because of the revolution, Lowell spent one year there. With the financial support of his father, Lowell returned to Boston in 1796 to start a business on Long Wharf.

Between 1798 and 1808, Lowell’s overseas trading involved tea and silk imported from China and hand-woven and hand-spun cotton textile from India. In 1802, the Boston harbor was improved when the India Wharf was developed through the efforts of Lowell and some friends. This was the beginning of Boston harbor becoming a major player in Oriental trade.

Later, Lowell’s group developed the Broad Street to cater to retailing. This led Lowell to purchase a rum distillery and imported molasses from the sugar producers in the Caribbean. Lowell spent the next few months improving his rum distillery machineries. The properties he acquired in and around Boston were rented out or resold, earning him lots of profit.

Although United States was already politically independent at that time, its trade relied heavily on imported manufactured goods. However, the conflict US had with European Powers, and the effects of the Embargo of 1807 has severely affected US trade with France, Great Britain and the Orient.

Because of these circumstances, Lowell concluded that for the United States to be truly independent, manufacturing should be done at home. When Lowell and his family visited England and Scotland in 1810, he secretly studied and observed the textile industries in Scotland and Lancashire. His observations focused more on the spinning and weaving machines which were operated by steam or water power.

In 1814, Lowell and his three brothers-in-law founded the Boston Manufacturing Company. This was the first integrated textile company in the US, processing cotton into finished textile in one building.

Lowell died in 1817 when Boston Manufacturing Company was financially healthy.

Monica Lozano: Bringing Spanish Dailies to America

Monica Lozano is an American journalist and newspaper publisher. She is the CEO of both La Opinion and its parent company ImpreMedia. Lozano is also a public servant, having been appointed into the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board of the Obama government and the Commission on the 21st Century Economy of Governor Schwarzenegger.

Lozano was born to Mexican-American parents. Her parental grandfather owned La Prensa, one of the first and largest Spanish publications in the US. Every day, La Prensa distributes copies of the publication in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. Later, Lozano’s grandfather founded La Opinion.

At the time when discussing the issue of AIDS was a taboo, Lozano, who was already with La Opinion, fought fear and prejudice to address the issue. Lozano acted as the overseer of proactive political journalism. Among those Lozano interviewed for La Opinion were US Senator Barbara Boxer and California Governor Pete Wilson.

Today, La Opinion remains the largest Spanish publication circulated in the US.

James Loeb: Blending Banking and Philanthropy

James Loeb was an American banker and philanthropist. His father, Solomon, was also a banker who became the founding partner of Kuhn Loeb & Company, a banking firm. His mother, Betty, was a musician. She instilled the interest in music to her children and held evening concerts at home.

Loeb was born in New York City on August 6, 1867. He focused in Latin and Greek when he joined Harvard College in 1884. His mother’s influence in music helped him in college. In fact, Loeb became the vice president of Harvard’s music club and orchestra, Pierian Sodality.

On his graduation day, Loeb was offered to go to London and Paris to study Egyptology. He turned down the offer. Instead, he fulfilled his father’s wish to join Kuhn Loeb & Company. By 1894, Loeb was a partner in the firm. In New York, Loeb’s business acumen was enhanced. He was also involved in a number of civic actions.

In 1891, Loeb became very ill. It was known what caused his illness; possibly because of depression. He was forced to give up business. He spent his time traveling to Scandinavia. On January 1, 1902, Loeb tried to return to banking but was hampered by renewed health problems. Loeb retired from banking. His most recent health attack was attributed to overwork.

Loeb retired to his farm in Shrewsbury, New Jersey. In 1905, Loeb moved to Germany and stayed there for good, except during the World War I. Loeb died in 1933.

Loeb’s philanthropic efforts which he started shortly before his retirement continued even after his death. His involvement in arts and classics were demonstrated in the Loeb Classical Library. Loeb also left an endowment to the Harvard Classics Department. Before his retirement, Loeb also became a trustee in the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. Loeb was also a contributor in the founding of the American Institute of Musical Art in New York.