Abram Pritzker: Laying the Path for the Family’s Fortunes

Abram Nicholas Pritzker was an American entrepreneur who was more popularly known in the professional circles as A.N. Pritzker. He was born on January 6, 1896 to Ukrainian-Jewish parents. His father, Nicholas J. Pritzker left Kiev in 1881 to work as a pharmacist in Chicago. Nicholas also practiced his law profession in Chicago. He wrote a small book themed “Your immortality is the only impact you have on your successors. This book was handed down through the generations of the Pritzkers.

After his graduation from the Harvard Law School, Abram joined his brothers Harry and Jack, and their father in the Pritzker & Pritzker law firm. Abram’s specialization was business law, while Harry focused on criminal law and Jack on real estate law. Abram left the firm in the 1930s and started investing in real estate along with Jack. He also purchased small companies in Chicago. Harry continued with the law firm which eventually developed into an in-house law firm that took care of the legal needs of the Pritzker businesses.

The success of the Pritzker brothers resulted in considerable family wealth. As lawyers, the Pritzkers were able to shield their earnings from taxes through the establishment of trusts. The trusts enabled them to distribute their wealth as they choose. Abram was involved in a number of philanthropic activities including the funding of the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago and the A.N. Pritzker Elementary School.

Daniel Pratt: Persistent When Everyone Else Stops

Daniel Pratt was an American businessman and industrialist who was instrumental in the opening of ventures and industries in Alabama. He was honored by the cities of Prattville in Autauga County and Pratt City in Jefferson County in Birmingham.

Pratt was born on July 20, 1799 in Temple, New Hampshire. Following his release from being an apprentice architect at 16 years old, Pratt left New England for Savannah, Georgia. He moved to Milledgeville, Georgia after two years. By 1827, Pratt became a popular architect-builder. He became the leader of his trade in the South. In Georgia, Pratt met the cotton gins manufacturer Samuel Griswold who also hailed from New England. Pratt convinced Griswold to expand to Alabama but the partnership did not last long because of the disagreement they had with the Native Americans there.

On his own, Pratt gathered his family, two of his slaves and enough materials to construct 50 gins and moved to central Alabama, particularly in McNeil’s Mill. He leased a land located along the small creek in Autauga County. There, Pratt started producing cotton gins. Later, Pratt purchased a 1,822-acre land just north of his leased land where he constructed a cotton gin manufacturing facility in 1838. The small village in that area which became a home for the workers in his cotton gin factory became a town and was named Prattville.

In no time, Pratt’s facility became the world’s largest manufacturer of cotton gins. Cotton gins manufacturing became the first major industry in the state of Alabama. Since growth was inevitable, Pratt diversified into iron foundry, gristmill, window factory, sawmill, woolen mill, bank and railroad businesses, including the Oxmoor Blast Furnace in Birmingham. However, when the American Civil War broke out, Pratt’s business was one of the most affected since majority of his workers were recruited by the military and his customer base shrank significantly because the economy got sour.

After the American Civil War, Pratt spearheaded the Reconstruction by calling debts on Northern accounts. Pratt was able to rebuild his businesses. In turn, the economy of Autauga County became stable and prosperous after the war. Consequently, the Birmingham District opened as the center for iron making industry.

Annette Presley's Shot to Success

Nowadays, being a dropout is not something to be ashamed of especially when you have made a good, perhaps even great, name for yourself. Such is the case with Annette Sylvia Presley who was once described as the "most successful dropout" of the Auckland Technical Institute.

And what a success she has proven to be! Presley is a Kiwi well-known telecommunications entrepreneur. She is the co-founder of Slingshot, one of New Zealand's biggest Internet service providers (ISPs).

In 1992, Presley and her then-husband Malcom Dick moved to Australia where they co-founded Call Australia that grew at an impressive rate. But in 1998, they sold Call Australia and moved back to New Zealand.

Slingshot, for which Presley is most closely associated, started as a of CallPlus, a company founded by the couple in 1996. Presley and Dick held 45% each of the stocks with Martin Wylie, CEO, owning the 10%. Presley also became the company's public face while Dick was in charge of the technical side.

Annemarie van Gaal: The Gal With The Guts And Gumption

In the media industry, it takes guts and gumption to stand out from the competition and Annemarie van Gaal certainly has both traits in abundant measure. She is an influential Dutch entrepreneur, investor and author as well as television personality whose investments in the media industry continue to make their mark.

Van Gaal started her career as an executive assistant at United Dutch Publishers in 1985 and she soon rose up in the ranks as a project manager in one of the company's subsidiaries. In 1990, she was assigned to Russia as manager of the Moscow Illustrated Press but the venture fizzled out by the next year.

By 1992, van Gaal manifested her guts and gumption in the dog-eat-dog publishing world by co-establishing her own company, Independent Media. With her innovative approaches, the company achieved fast growth from just $1.5 million turnover in 1992 to nearly $80 million in 1998; employees increased from 15 to 700 in the same period.

No surprise then that Independent Media has garnered multiple award under van Gaal's leadership, such as the East Europe Prize for Enterprises, the Best International Publishing award from IPC, and the best Business in Russia from the American Chamber of Commerce.

Truly, van Gaal has made a publishing empire in her own right. Independent Media is the recognized leader of the publishing industry in both Russia and Ukraine with a wide range of publications including trade journals, consumer magazines, and newspapers. Popular names include the Russian editions for Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Men's Health, and Good Housekeeping.

Van Gaal also became the General Director for the Telegraaf Magazine Group (TTG) upon her relocation to The Netherlands. However, she had to step down from the post due to a conflict of interest but she is still an active member of the company.

But why stop there? Van Gaal also has her own publishing house and real estate company as well as a private equity investor.

Oliver Pollock: Underrated But Significant

Oliver Pollock was an Irish-born American businessman and financier who was known for funding the American Revolutionary War. He was also credited for the US Dollar sign which he created in 1778. Despite his contribution to American history, Pollock remained an undervalued figure.

Pollock was born in Coleraine, Northern Ireland in 1737. At 23 years old, Pollock joined his father as they sailed to Philadelphia and settled in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. In two years, Pollock’s port-to-port trade with the Spanish settlers in West Indies became a success. There, Pollock also developed his friendship with Governor General Alejandro O’Reilly. Pollock began trading in New Orleans following O’Reilly’s appointment as Governor of Louisiana by the King of Spain. Pollock’s close association with O’Reilly earned him the favor of the officials of Spanish Louisiana and granted him permission for free trade within New Orleans.

At the time when flour became a scarce commodity in Louisiana, people became desperately in need of Pollock’s flour shipments. However, instead of taking advantage of the scarcity, Pollock chose to sell his flour at half the going price. This gained him popularity and he became the city’s most successful businessman.

During the American Revolution, Pollock used his wealth and political influence to get his appointment as “commercial agent of the US at New Orleans.,” He financed America’s operations in the west, including General George Rogers Clark’s successful campaign in Illinois in 1778. He also used his influence with Spanish Louisiana to conquer Louisiana, Alabama and Florida.

William Piper Sr.: Unplanned Rise to Aviation Prominence

William Piper Sr. was an American businessman, aviator, and airplane manufacturer. He founded the Piper Aircraft Corporation and served as its first president. He was an inductee into the National Aviation Hall of Fame.

Piper was born on January 8, 1881 in the village of Knapp Creek in New York. His father managed the family’s dairy farm and crude oil business. At eight, Piper was exposed to rural life - milking cows and walking miles every day to attend a one-room school in the countryside. At nine, he assisted his father in repairing the well pumps of their crude oil business. Later in his boyhood, his family moved to Bradford, Pennsylvania.

During the Spanish-American War, Piper was recruited for the US Army. After the war, Piper took up mechanical engineering at Harvard. He graduated in 1903 with honors. His first job out of Harvard was with construction. Later, Piper returned to Bradford with his wife Marie van de Water. He took up his father’s oil business and turned it into the Dallas Oil Company. He had a short stint with the Army Corps of Engineers during the World War I. He went back to the oil business after the war but the business grew less profitable.

Once, a self-taught airplane designer named C. Gilbert Taylor built a monoplane and convinced the community leaders of Bradford to pledge $50,000 to build a facility that would produce the monoplanes in the town’s airport. Piper’s business partner pledged $400 in his behalf. Later, this partner told him, “Bill, you are in the airplane business now.” He knew little about aviation but he was elected into the board of the Taylor Brothers Aircraft Corporation as treasurer. Unfortunately, the company went bankrupt due to the Great Depression.

At the public sale, Piper acquired the bankrupt company for $761. The business environment was really tough at that time but Piper managed to produce low cost planes like the “Cub.” To sell the Cub, Piper pushed for free flying lessons. This appealed to many people to fly for the first time.

When his Bradford plant caught fire, Piper, along with his children Thomas, Howard and William, converted an abandoned silk mill in Lock Haven Pennsylvania into an aircraft factory. They re-organized the company and established the Piper Aircraft Corporation. The Cubs continued to set records of all sorts.

Anton Philips: The Story of the Positive Side of War

Anton Philips was an American businessman and industrialist who was the co-founder of Royal Philips Electronics. Anton and his brother Gerard founded the company in 1912. His father and Gerard were the founders of Philips Company which they established in 1891. Anton served as the CEO of Philips Company from 1922 to 1939.

Anton was born on March 14, 1874. He grew up in Zaltbommel, The Netherlands where his father owned a tobacco business and a bank. Anton joined Philips Company in 1912. That year, the family decided to change the company’s name to Philips Lightbulbfactory NV. Anton helped increase the company’s sales when the World War I broke out. At that time, several large markets boycotted German products and Anton was able to take advantage of the situation by providing alternative products.

Together with Gerard, Anton actively participated in many civic activities. They supported many social programs that involved education and sports. They were credited for the creation of the Philips Sports Association football department.

Henry Plant and His Contribution to the Railroads Systems in Florida

Henry Plant was an American businessman who was greatly involved in the railroad projects in Florida. He was the owner of the Plant System or railroads, a major player in the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. Near Tampa in Florida, the city of Plant was named in honor of him.

Plant was born on October 27, 1819 in Branford, Connecticut. His father died when he was just six years old and his mother married again. His grandmother wanted him to be a clergy and offered to send him to Yale College. His impatience led him to an active career as a deckhand in a steamboat that plied New Haven and Hartford.

He did well with working on express parcels. But his company was acquired by Adams Express Company which transferred the business to railroads from steamboats. Plant went along with the change which made him in charge of the old York office. But his wife’s health problems forced the company to move them to Jacksonville n 1853. Then the possibility of future development in Florida opened the window for him.

In 1854, Plant was assigned as Adams Express superintendent for the territories in Potomac and Ohio rivers. Plant was successful in organizing the express service in the area which was relatively uncoordinated at that time. When the Civil War threatened the Southern properties with confiscation, the directors of Adams Express transferred them Plant. Plant organized the Southern Express Company in 1861 out of the Southern stockholders.

The Civil War ruined the Southern railroads and the depression of 1873 forced bankruptcy upon these businesses. However, the devastation was an opportunity for Plant. He believed that the Southern economy would eventually recover. At foreclosure, Plant acquired the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad in 1879 and the Charleston and Savannah Railroad in 1880. These companies became the nucleus of the transportation system that Plant would later establish in the southern Atlantic seaboard.

Plant chose the small village of Tampa to become the base of his southern Florida railroad and the home port of his steamships that ply to Havana.