#285 Jay Gould (How Jay Gould Built Wall Street's Biggest Fortune)

**David Senra** (0:00)
I want to tell you about a one-time only limited event that I don't think you're going to want to miss. I am doing a live show with Patrick O'Shaughnessy from the Invest Like the Best podcast in New York City on October 19th. Patrick has interviewed over 300 of the world's best investors and founders for his podcast. I've read over 300 biographies of history's greatest entrepreneurs for my podcast. We'll be talking about what we learned from seven years of podcasting, sharing our favorite ideas and stories, and doing a live Q&A. There will also be special event-only swag. If you live in New York City, I think it's a no-brainer. But if not, I think it's a great excuse to fly in. I've already heard from a bunch of people that bought tickets. They're flying in from other cities. Some people are flying in from other countries. That's setting the bar really high. So I will have at least four shots of espresso or four energy drinks before or during the show. So we can make it a night that you'll never forget. If you're interested in attending this unique live event, I will leave a link down below. I highly recommend you get your tickets today. And I hope I get to see you in New York on October 19th. The presenting sponsor of this episode is Tiny. Tiny is the easiest way for you to sell your business. They provide straightforward cash exits for founders. Selling a business is usually an unpleasant experience. Tiny removes all the hassle. In fact, if you go to tiny.com, you'll be able to see the way that they differentiate their offering compared to other people that buy businesses. Make sure you stick around to the end of this episode. The last six minutes is actually a masterclass on product differentiation from Warren Buffett. I actually compare the ideas that Warren writes about in his shareholder letters to Tiny's approach to building their business. And like Warren Buffett, Tiny moves fast. The process to sell your business is very straightforward. You just go to tiny.com, you'll get a response within 48 hours, they'll make an offer within seven days, and then they close within a month. If you're an investor or a founder and you have a business that you think is a good fit for Tiny that you want to sell now or in the future, make sure you go to tiny.com. And one more thing before we jump into the unbelievable life and career of Jay Gould for the second time, I want to give you a personal podcast recommendation. Invest Like The Best is one of my favorite podcasts. The host Patrick is a world-class interviewer and he shares my passion for podcasting. Whatever podcast player that you're currently listening to this on, please search for Invest Like The Best and make sure you follow that show. I have two episode recommendations for you. In fact, I listened to one last night. It is episode 293, Mitch Lasky. It goes into the actual business of video games. I thought it was fascinating. And then if you want to listen to the episode Patrick and I did together, it's episode 292 It's called Passion and Pain. And now let's jump into the life story of the man that Cornelius Vanderbilt said was the smartest man in America.
Jay Gould took time off from counting his money to have lunch at Delmonico's, the fanciest restaurant in town. While he was eating, a lawyer walked over to his table and punched him in the face.
A series of spectacular financial triumphs had made Gould fabulously rich. Now at age 36, he was the most notorious businessman in the country. Like others who tried to claw back money from Gould, the lawyer was getting nowhere in court. The laws were too weak, enforcement too lax, and the judges too crooked. Gould had them in his pocket. This book seeks to explain Jay Gould and his underappreciated and aggressively maligned role in the country's transformative economic expansion of the 19th century.
But it's just as much an exploration of Wall Street during its Wild West era after the Civil War, when by the rough means on display at Delmonico's, the seeds of our current financial system were planted. Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie are not the focus of this book because they made their money in industry, not in finance.
Vanderbilt toiled in steamships and railroads, Rockefeller in oil, and Carnegie in steel. Only the lesser known figure of Jay Gould, as rich as any of them, was foremost a creature of Wall Street.
To the extent Jay Gould is remembered, it's for Black Friday, the day he blew up the gold market and paralyzed the financial system. Lawyers swamped him with lawsuits, prosecutors hid him with subpoenas, and Congress hauled him in for hearings.