A financier, philanthropist and one of the fathers of corporate finance in the United States. John Pierpont Morgan started his career in 1857 at his father's bank, J.S. Morgan & Co., taking it over in 1890 after his father's death. He died on March 31, 1913 in Rome as one of the richest men in the world.

A leader in corporate finance, J.P. Morgan was famous for mergers, such as bringing Edison General Electric and Thompson-Houston Electric Company together to form the company General Electric. He also formed the first billion-dollar company in the world, United States Steel Corporation.