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Date of Birth
Cornelius Vanderbilt was born on May 27, 1794 in Staten Island, New York -
Quit school to work with his father.
Worked with shipyard, cargo, and passengers -
He took over the business.
He ran to sailing vessels and shared the earning with his family. He had to share the earnings because they gave him a loan for the vessels. -
Improvement of Company of Shipment
After the War of 1812, he obtained some boats and earned $10,000 (today worth about 149,476) by transporting people and goods. -
Married
Cornelius married his first cousin Sophia Johnson and later would have 13 children. -
New Technology
He saw potential in in the steamboat production, so he partnered with Thomas Gibson to make a steamship business. -
Started his own company.
In New York, he decided to start his own steamboat company. -
Early Rivalry
He started to gain rivals because he became dominate in the shipping industry. -
Wealth
His net worth reached more than $1 million. -
Gold Rush
Because of the Gold Rush, he started getting paid more because the steamboats made it faster to get to California. He made 1 million dollars (26 million dollar today). He gained the nickname "The Commodore" -
Railroads
Cornelius saw that the railroad industry was booming, so he decided to sell his ships and buy railroads. -
Fisk and Gould
One of his biggest losses was when Fisk and Gould tricked him and they bought the Erie stock. -
Grand Central Depot
He decided to start the construction of the Grand Central Depot, which was the biggest building in Manhattan at the time -
Illness
Vanderbilt became ill and lasted 8 months. -
Death
After battling his illness, he passed away.Doctors assume it was syphilis.