George Fisher Baker
George Fisher Baker | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Troy, New York, U.S. |
| Died | May 2, 1931 (aged 91) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Financier, philanthropist |
| Known for | "Dean of American Banking"; major shareholder of First National Bank of the City of New York (later Citibank), U.S. Steel, Central Railroad of New Jersey |
George Fisher Baker (March 27, 1840 – May 2, 1931) was a prominent American financier and philanthropist, often referred to as the "Dean of American Banking" due to his sharp financial insight and reserved personality. He accumulated vast wealth following the American Civil War through strategic investments in railroads and banking institutions, ranking as the third wealthiest American at the time of his passing, after Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller.
Early life
George Fisher Baker was born in Troy, New York to Eveline Stevens Baker and George Ellis Baker, who owned a shoe store and had served as a New York State Assemblyman. He attended the S.S. Seward Institute located in Florida, New York, where he studied subjects including geography, bookkeeping, history, and algebra. At the age of 16, he secured a position as a junior clerk within the New York State Banking Department. Although he did not pursue higher education at a university, he enlisted in the 18th Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia during the Civil War, eventually earning promotion to first lieutenant and adjutant.
Career
In 1863, Baker partnered with his mentor John Thompson and Thompson’s sons to establish the First National Bank of the City of New York, marking it as the first national bank chartered in New York City under the provisions of the National Currency Act of 1863. This institution later became what is known today as Citibank, N.A.. At age 37 in 1877, Baker assumed the presidency of the bank, owning 20,000 shares valued at approximately $20 million in current terms. He stepped down from the presidency in 1909 to take on the role of chairman of the board, with Francis L. Hine succeeding him as president.
Baker was an active investor and served on the boards of 22 companies whose combined assets totaled $7.27 billion. Notably, he held the largest individual stake in U.S. Steel, with shares worth around $6 million in the early 1920s (equivalent to about $83 million today). He also was the principal shareholder of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, highlighting his significant control over pivotal industrial sectors.
Media depiction
The April 14, 1924 issue of Time magazine estimated Baker’s fortune at $200 million, emphasizing his commanding presence over numerous railroads, banking institutions, and industrial enterprises.
Baker maintained a close association with J.P. Morgan, a leading industrialist and banker from the late 19th to early 20th century United States. As detailed in Richard Boyer and Herbert Morais's Labor's Untold Story (1955), Morgan and his affiliates dominated major trusts spanning steel (U.S. Steel), maritime shipping (International Mercantile Marine Company), agricultural machinery (International Harvester), extensive railroad networks (approximately 30,000 miles), anthracite coal transportation, electrical equipment (General Electric), communications (AT&T, Western Union), transit systems (Interborough Rapid Transit Company, Hudson & Manhattan), and insurance (Equitable Holdings).
In 1934, Time portrayed Baker as "the richest, most powerful and most taciturn commercial banker in U.S. history," while Newsweek acknowledged him as one of banking’s most formidable personalities.
In November 1994, James Grant writing for Worth magazine described Baker as a prudent banker who consistently ensured that loans were repaid.
Baker remained publicly silent until he was 82 years old; in 1922 he gave his inaugural newspaper interview and subsequently made occasional appearances speaking at business gatherings.
Businesses
Throughout his career, Baker possessed controlling or substantial stakes in a wide array of prominent financial institutions and industrial enterprises, including:
- Astor National Bank
- AT&T Corporation
- Bankers Trust
- Central Railroad of New Jersey
- Chase National Bank
- Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
- Erie Railroad
- First National Bank of New York
- Great Northern Railroad
- Lehigh Valley Railroad
- Manhattan Company
- Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York
- National Bank of Commerce in New York
- New York Central Railroad
- New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
- Northern Pacific Railroad
- Reading Railroad
- Richmond & Danville Railroad
- Rock Island Line
- Southern Railway
- U.S. Steel
Personal life
In 1869, Baker wed Florence Tucker Baker, the daughter of Benjamin Franklin Baker and Sophronia J. (Whitney) Baker. Their union produced three children:
- Evelyn Baker (1870–1936), who became the wife of Howard Bligh St. George in 1891; their eldest son, George Baker Bligh St. George, married Katharine Price Collier.
- Florence Bellows Baker (1876–1936), who married William Goadby Loew.
- George Fisher Baker Jr. (1878–1937), who was united in marriage with Edith Brevoort Kane. Their daughter Elizabeth married John M. Schiff from Kuhn, Loeb & Co., while their son George F. Baker III wed Frances Drexel Munn, thereby connecting the family with the Drexel banking lineage.
Baker held membership in the prestigious Jekyll Island Club (also known as The Millionaires Club) as well as the New York Yacht Club, where he was inducted in 1895.
He passed away in New York City on May 2, 1931.
Properties
Baker owned multiple residences including a home on Madison Avenue in New York City, a summer retreat on Jekyll Island near Brunswick, Georgia, and an estate located in Tuxedo Park, New York.
Top Hat LeBaron Pierce-Arrow
In 1929, for his daughter’s wedding, Baker commissioned a distinctive Pierce-Arrow town car from LeBaron. The vehicle’s roofline was elevated by five inches to fit his top hat comfortably. The rear cabin was adorned with 24-carat gold detailing and equipped with perfume dispensers and an intercom system.
Philanthropy
Baker made a landmark $5 million donation to Harvard Business School in 1924, which led to him receiving an honorary doctorate and having the school’s library named in his honor.
In 1922, he contributed $1 million to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he had been serving on the board since 1909.
He also endowed Cornell University with $2 million to support the Baker Laboratory of Chemistry, student dormitories, and the Baker Lecture Series—the longest-running continuous chemistry lecture program in the United States.
Additionally, Baker supported numerous charitable organizations across New York City, funded Baker Field at Columbia University, and provided $2 million for the establishment of Baker Memorial Library at Dartmouth College.