John Jacob Astor bought large parcels of land on Manhattan at a time when most of the island was uninhabited. He had correctly predicted the city’s expansion to the north.
John Jacob Astor died on this date in 1848 as the wealthiest man in the USA by far. It is interesting that he was probably also the first multi-millionaire in the country’s history. He was born in Germany as Johann Jakob Astor, but moved to the USA in his youth, where he became rich by trading furs. He later went on to expand his business as far as China.
After obtaining a large amount of capital through trade, he bought large parcels of land on Manhattan at a time when most of the island was uninhabited. He had correctly predicted the city’s expansion to the north. Of course, land prices then skyrocketed and Astor became incredibly rich. Astor died in New York at the age of 84.
His descendants became one of the wealthiest families in the USA and remained so for many decades after his death. For example, his great-grandson William Waldorf Astor built the Waldorf hotel in Mahattan (it was named after Walldorf, the birthplace of Johann Jacob Astor). Another family member then built a hotel called Astoria nearby, but these two buildings were later joined into the Waldorf Astoria, one of the most famous hotels in the world.