Cornelius 'The Commodore' Vanderbilt rose from nothing to build the biggest shipping and railroad empires in America, and amass a great fortune. His dying words were to 'keep the money together,' but did his children and grandchildren listen?
John D Rockefeller started out with one kerosene refinery in Cleveland, Ohio. Within 15 years it became the largest oil producer in the world. After conquering the fuel industry, the Rockefellers gave much of their wealth away through philanthropy.