Eugene Meyer: Influence That Spans Three Presidencies

Eugene I. Meyer was financier, newspaper publisher and public official. He was the first president of the World Bank Group. He served as publisher of the Washington Post. From 1930 to 1933, Meyer was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Meyer was born on October 31, 1875 in Los Angeles, California. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree at Yale University in 1895. He worked for Lazard Freres where his father Marc Eugene was a partner for four years. He quit his job to be his own boss. He became successful as an investor and speculator and even earned a seat at the New York Stock Exchange. In 1915, when Meyer was 40 years old, his fortune was estimated at $40 million.

In 1920, Meyer and William H. Nichols formed a partnership known Allied Chemical & Dye Corporation. Later on, the company became known as AlliedSignal, the forerunner of the specialty materials business of Honeywell.

During the World War I, Meyer served the head of the War Finance Corporation under President Woodrow Wilson. He was the chairman of the Federal Farm Loan Board under President Calvin Coolidge. It was President Herbert Hoover who appointed Meyer as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.