Cornelius Vander(built) nothing but a college named after himself (and also boats)

    It always starts the same way: an ordinary hardworking boy makes an extraordinary amount of money by working hard. Rags to riches, grimy slacks to business suits, et cetera, et cetera. The interesting thing about Cornelius Vanderbilt is that he, unlike many other filthy rich businessmen in his era, never reached the philanthropic, Robinhood-esque, chairman turned charity-man status. In other words, he didn't make significant donations to charity or philanthropic causes apart from a shiny university building with his name on the side. 

    So, what exactly did he do? Well, young Cornelius stuck to what he knew best: steamboats, the industry he had worked in with his father since childhood. His foundation at sea allowed him to build his own steamboat business where he worked as an operator and builder. By the mid-1820s, Vanderbilt had a reputation as a ruthless and competitive man--he was probably, I would say, the most feared man in the steamboat business. So of course, after years of being the steamboat messiah and earning millions upon millions of dollars, Cornelius decided to move on to bigger and brighter things: trains--the boats of the land, as I always say. 


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