Great Fortunes of the Gilded Age

43 Pages Posted: 15 Jan 2009 Last revised: 10 Apr 2022

See all articles by Hugh Rockoff

Hugh Rockoff

Newark College of Arts & Sciences - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: December 2008

Abstract

This paper explores the origins of the great fortunes of the Gilded Age. It relies mainly on two lists of millionaires published in 1892 and 1902, similar to the Forbes magazine list of the 400 richest Americans. Manufacturing, as might be expected, was the most important source of Gilded Age fortunes. Many of the millionaires, moreover, won their fortunes by exploiting the latest technology: Alfred D. Chandler's "continuous-flow production." A more surprising finding is that wholesale and retail trade, real estate, and finance together produced more millionaires than manufacturing. Real estate and finance, moreover, were by far the most important secondary and tertiary sources of Gilded Age fortunes: entrepreneurs started in many sectors, but then expanded their fortunes mainly through investments in real estate and financial assets. Inheritance was also important, especially in older regions

Suggested Citation

Rockoff, Hugh T., Great Fortunes of the Gilded Age (December 2008). NBER Working Paper No. w14555, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1327228

Hugh T. Rockoff (Contact Author)

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