Cornelius Vanderbilt

- American tycoon, businessman, and philanthropist.
- built is wealth in railroads and shipping.
- patriarch of the Vanderbilt family and one of the richest Americans in history.
- At the age of 16, he started his own ferry service.
- By the end of the 1830s he dominated the steamboat business
- Was president of the Stonington Railroad during the California Gold Rush.