How Pierpont Morgan Saved the Gold Standard
In a breathtaking display of self-confidence, J.P. Morgan refilled the Treasury's gold reserves and saved the monetary standard for four...
The Savings and Loan Disaster
Congress has sometimes shielded bankers from the consequences of bad policies. This has occasionally brought on disaster.
The Ordeal of Hetty Green
For five hours, she pleaded, she shouted and she threatened, while crowds out on Wall Street watched the drama through...
A New Kind of Branch Bank
In 1954 bank architecture joined the 20th century, with a revolutionary bank branch at 43rd Street and Fifth Avenue in...
England’s ‘Secret Weapon’: How a Bank Laid the Groundwork for the British Empire
It was the Bank of England and the British national debt that made Great Britain a superpower.
The Mismanagement of the Freedman’s Bank
An institution whose whole purpose had been to safeguard the money of the country’s poorest ended up destroying it.
J.P. Morgan to the Rescue
It had been a near-run thing but the Panic of 1907 subsided—and the crisis had one positive outcome.
How a ‘Generous Skinflint’ Restored America’s Fiscal Reputation
Having devoted his entire adult life to accumulating one of the great fortunes of the age—while spending as little as...
Making It in America
When we think of Gilded Age bankers, we tend to think of top-hatted men with names like Morgan, Stillman and...
How Credit Cards Fueled Global Economic Growth
By greatly facilitating transactions, William Boyle’s credit card helped the global economy to grow, and benefited bankers, merchants and customers...
