Cornelius Vanderbilt

American shipping and railroad financier. He began his travel business in New York at the age of 16, and in 1818 he joined steamship shipping, later coming to dominate maritime shipping in the region. In 1850, he established a shipping line across the Nicaraguan Isthmus to California, and made a fortune by transporting gold to the area during the gold boom. After expanding into Atlantic shipping, he turned his attention to the railroad business, and in 1867 he became president of the New York Central. He bought related lines one after another, creating a trunk railroad network that reached the Great Lakes region. His management is said to be efficient, but he used many underhanded tactics to compete with his competitors. He amassed a huge fortune, estimated at the time at $100 million, and left behind a mansion that has become a historic site in the suburbs of New York.

[Hideyo Naganuma]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

アメリカの船舶、鉄道資本家。16歳からニューヨークで渡航業を始め、1818年には蒸気船輸送に参加、のち同地域一帯の海上輸送を支配するに至った。50年、ニカラグア地峡を横断してカリフォルニアに至る船舶路線を設け、金ブームの同地への輸送で巨富を築いた。さらに、大西洋航路に進出したのち鉄道業に関心を移し、67年、ニューヨーク・セントラル社長に就任。次々と関連路線を買収し、五大湖地域に至る幹線鉄道網をつくった。その経営は能率的といわれるが、競争相手に対抗して多くのあくどい手段を用いた。当時の推定で1億ドルという巨富を積み、ニューヨーク郊外に、史跡となる豪邸を残している。

［長沼秀世］

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