John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-born American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor. Astor made his fortune mainly in a
fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...
monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...
, by exporting
opium
Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...
into the
Chinese Empire, and by investing in real estate in or around New York City
during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was the first prominent member of the
Astor family
The Astor family achieved prominence in business sector, business, Socialite, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With Germans, German roots, some of their ancestry goes back to th ...
and the first multi-
millionaire
A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. Depending on the currency, a certain level of prestige is associated with being a millionaire.
Many national currencies have, or ...
in the United States.
Born in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, Astor immigrated to England as a teenager and worked as a musical instrument manufacturer. He moved to the United States after the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
(1775–1783). Seeing the expansion of population to the west, Astor entered the fur trade and built a monopoly, managing a business empire that extended to the
Great Lakes region
The Great Lakes region of Northern America is a binational Canadian– American region centered on the Great Lakes that includes the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin and the Ca ...
and north into
British North America
British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...
(future
Dominion of Canada
While a variety of theories have been postulated for the name of Canada, its origin is now accepted as coming from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word , meaning 'village' or 'settlement'. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec C ...
), and later expanded into the
Western United States
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau.
As American settlement i ...
and the
American frontier West and extended to the far
West Coast and
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
. Following a decline in demand due to changing
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an styles and tastes in
beaver fur mens' hats and clothing tastes, he got out of the fur trade in 1830, diversifying by investing in New York City real estate. Astor became one of the wealthiest men in the United States and became a prominent patron of the arts.
[Axel Madsen, ''John Jacob Astor: America's First Multimillionaire'' (2001)]
At the time of his death, Astor's estate was estimated to be $20 to $30 million,
roughly equivalent to $ billion to $ billion in . In proportion to the GDP, he was one of the richest people in modern history, with 0.9% to 1.35% of the US GDP at his time of death. This was previously popularised by
Nathaniel P. Tallmadge remarking "one in every 100 dollars in this country ends up in J Astor's hands" during Tallmadge's
1839-1840 campaign for the U.S. Senate.
Biography
Early life
Johann Jakob Astor was born in 1763 in
Walldorf
Walldorf (; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Walldoaf'') is a town in the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
In the eighteenth century, Walldorf was the birthplace of John J ...
, a town near
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...
in the
Electoral Palatinate
The Electoral Palatinate was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy Roman Empero ...
, which is in the present-day German state of
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...
. He was the youngest son of Johann Jacob Astor and Maria Magdalena vom Berg. His three older brothers were George, Henry, and Melchior. In his childhood, Johann worked in his father's butcher shop and as a dairy salesman.
In 1779, at the age of 16, he moved to
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
to join his brother George in working for an uncle's
piano
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
and
flute
The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
manufacturer, Astor & Broadwood. While there, he learned English and
anglicized his name to John Jacob Astor.
Migration to the United States
In November 1783, just after the end of the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
, Astor boarded a ship for the United States, arriving in
Baltimore
Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
around March of the following year. There, he rented a room from Sarah Cox Todd, a widow, and began a flirtation with his landlady's daughter, also named Sarah Cox Todd. The young couple married in 1785. His intent had been to join his brother Henry, who had established a butcher shop in New York City.
A chance meeting with a fur trader on his voyage had inspired him to join the
North American fur trade
The North American fur trade is the (typically) historical Fur trade, commercial trade of furs and other goods in North America, beginning in the eastern provinces of French Canada and the northeastern Thirteen Colonies, American colonies (soon- ...
as well.
After working at his brother's shop for a time, Astor began to purchase raw hides from
Native Americans, prepare them himself, and resell them in London and elsewhere at great profit. He opened his own fur goods shop in New York in the late 1780s and also served as the New York agent of his uncle's musical instrument business.
In 1789, along with Dubois & Stodart, he co-founded the
Francis Bacon Piano Company.
Fortune from fur trade

Astor took advantage of the 1794
Jay Treaty
The Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, Between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, commonly known as the Jay Treaty, and also as Jay's Treaty, was a 1794 treaty between the United States and Great Britain that averted ...
between Great Britain and the United States, which opened new markets in Canada and the
Great Lakes region
The Great Lakes region of Northern America is a binational Canadian– American region centered on the Great Lakes that includes the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin and the Ca ...
. In London, Astor at once made a contract with the
North West Company
The North West Company was a Fur trade in Canada, Canadian fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in the regions that later became Western Canada a ...
, which from
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
rivaled the trade interests of the
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
, then based in London.
Astor imported furs from Montreal to New York and shipped them to Europe.
By 1800, he had amassed over a quarter of a million dollars (equivalent to about $ million in ) and had become one of the leading figures in the fur trade. His agents worked throughout the western areas and were ruthless in competition. In 1800, following the example of the ''
Empress of China'', the first American trading vessel to China, Astor traded mostly opium, but also, furs, teas, and
sandalwood
Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sanda ...
at the port of
Canton in China, and greatly benefited from it.
[Madsen, ''John Jacob Astor'' (2001)]
The U.S.
Embargo Act of 1807
The Embargo Act of 1807 was a general trade embargo on all foreign nations that was enacted by the United States Congress. Much broader than the ineffectual 1806 Non-importation Act, it represented an escalation of attempts to persuade Br ...
disrupted Astor's import/export business because it closed off trade with Canada. With the permission of President
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
, Astor established the
American Fur Company
The American Fur Company (AFC) was a prominent American company that sold furs, skins, and buffalo robes. It was founded in 1808 by John Jacob Astor, a German Americans, German immigrant to the United States. During its heyday in the early 19th c ...
on April 6, 1808. He later formed subsidiaries: the
Pacific Fur Company, and the Southwest Fur Company (in which Canadians had a part), in order to control fur trading in the Great Lakes areas and
Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...
region. His Columbia River trading post at
Fort Astoria
Fort Astoria (also named Fort George) was the primary Fur trade, fur trading post of John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company (PFC). A maritime contingent of PFC staff was sent on board the ''Tonquin (1807 ship), Tonquin'', while another party tra ...
(established in April 1811) was the first United States community on the Pacific coast. He financed the overland Astor Expedition in 1810–1812 to reach the outpost. Members of the expedition were to discover
South Pass, through which hundreds of thousands of settlers on the
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
,
Mormon
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
, and
California Trails used to later pass through the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...
.
Astor's fur trading ventures were disrupted during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
, when the British captured his trading posts. In 1816, he joined the
opium smuggling trade. His American Fur Company purchased ten tons of
Ottoman-produced opium, and shipped the contraband to
Canton onboard the packet ship ''Macedonian''. Astor later left the Chinese opium trade and sold opium solely in Britain.
Astor's business rebounded in 1817 after the U.S. Congress passed a
protectionist
Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...
law that barred foreign fur traders from U.S. territories. The American Fur Company came to dominate trading in the area around the Great Lakes, absorbing competitors in a monopoly. Astor had a townhouse at 233 Broadway in New York
and a country estate, Hellgate, in the northern part of the city.
In 1822, Astor established the
Robert Stuart House on
Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island ( , ; ; ; ) is an island and resort area, covering in land area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the island in Odawa is Michilimackinac and "Mitchimakinak" in Ojibwemowin, meaning "Great Turtle". It is located in ...
in Michigan as headquarters for the reorganized American Fur Company, making the island a metropolis of the fur trade.
Washington Irving
Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...
described this at length, based on contemporary documents, diaries, etc., in his travelogue ''
Astoria''. Astor's commercial connections extended over the entire globe, and his ships were found in every sea. He and Sarah moved to a townhouse on Prince Street in New York.
Real estate and retirement
Astor began buying land in New York City in 1799 and acquired sizable holdings along the waterfront. After the start of the 19th century, flush with
China trade profits, he became more systematic, ambitious, and calculating by investing in New York real estate. In 1803, he bought a 70-acre farm on which he built the Astor Mansion at Hellgate. The property ran west of
Broadway to the Hudson River between
42nd and 46th streets. That same year, and the following year, he bought considerable holdings from the disgraced
Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician, businessman, lawyer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805 d ...
.
In the 1830s, Astor foresaw that the next big boom would be the build-up of New York, which would soon emerge as one of the world's greatest cities. Astor sold his interests in the American Fur Company, as well as all his other ventures, and used the money to buy and develop large tracts of
Manhattan Island
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...
real estate. Astor correctly predicted the city's rapid growth northward on the island, and he purchased more and more land beyond the then-existing city limits. Astor rarely built on his land, but leased it to others for rent and their use. After retiring from his business, Astor spent the rest of his life as a patron of culture. He supported the
ornithologist
Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...
John James Audubon
John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin, April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was a French-American Autodidacticism, self-trained artist, natural history, naturalist, and ornithology, ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornitho ...
in his studies, artwork, and travels, and the presidential campaign of
Henry Clay
Henry Clay (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seventh Spea ...
.
Marriage and family
On September 19, 1785, Astor married Sarah Cox Todd (April 9, 1762 – August 3, 1842). Her parents were Scottish immigrants Adam Todd and Sarah Cox. Although she brought him a
dowry
A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage.
Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...
of only $300, she possessed a frugal mind and a business judgment that he declared better than that of most merchants. She assisted him in the practical details of his business,
and managed Astor's affairs when he was away from New York.
They had eight children:
* Magdalena Astor (1788–1832), who married first
Adrian Benjamin Bentzon in 1807, secondly John Bristed in 1820. She was the mother of
Charles Astor Bristed.
* Sarah Todd Astor (1790–1790), who was stillborn.
* John Jacob Astor Jr. (1791–1869), sickly and mentally unstable.
*
William Backhouse Astor Sr. (1792–1875), who married Margaret Alida Rebecca Armstrong, daughter of Senator
John Armstrong Jr., in 1818.
* Dorothea Astor (1795–1874), who married Walter Langdon. They owned the
Langdon Estate Gatehouse.
* Henry Astor II (1797–1799), who died as a child.
* Eliza Astor (1801–1838), married
Vincent Rumpff
* Unnamed son (1802–1802), who died within a few days of his birth.
Fraternal organizations
Astor belonged to the
Freemasons, a fraternal order, and served as Master of Holland Lodge #8, New York City in 1788. Later he served as Grand Treasurer for the
Grand Lodge of New York. He was president of the
German Society of the City of New York from 1837 to 1841.
Legacy
At the time of his death in 1848, Astor was the wealthiest person in the United States, leaving an estate estimated to be worth between $20 and $30 million,
(equivalent to about $ billion to $ billion in 2020) or 0.9% to 1.35% of estimated US GDP at the time. By comparison, the fortune of
Jeff Bezos
Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ; born January 12, 1964) is an American businessman best known as the founder, executive chairman, and former president and CEO of Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce and clou ...
was worth approximately $200 billion in 2020, similar to Astor at approximately 0.9% of US GDP.
In his will, Astor bequeathed $400,000 to build the
Astor Library
The Astor Library was a free public library in the East Village, Manhattan, developed primarily through the collaboration of New York City merchant John Jacob Astor and New England educator and bibliographer Joseph Cogswell and designed by Alex ...
for the New York public, which was later consolidated with other libraries to form the
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...
. He also left $50,000 for a
poorhouse
A poorhouse or workhouse is a government-run (usually by a county or municipality) facility to support and provide housing for the dependent or needy.
Workhouses
In England, Wales and Ireland (but not in Scotland), "workhouse" has been the more ...
and orphanage in his German hometown of
Walldorf
Walldorf (; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Walldoaf'') is a town in the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
In the eighteenth century, Walldorf was the birthplace of John J ...
. The ''Astorhaus'' is now operated as a museum honoring Astor. It is a renowned and popular fest hall for marriages. Astor donated gifts totaling $20,000 to the German Society of the City of New York, during his term as president, from 1837 until 1841.
Astor left the bulk of his fortune to his second son William, because his eldest son, John Jr., was sickly and mentally unstable. Astor left enough money to care for John Jr. for the rest of his life. William continued building the family fortune, and was an ancestor of
John Jacob Astor III,
John Jacob Astor IV
John Jacob Astor IV (July 13, 1864 – April 15, 1912) was an American business magnate, real estate developer, investor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish–American War, and a prominent member of the Astor family. He was among the most ...
, and
John Jacob Astor VI.
Astor is buried in
Trinity Church Cemetery
The parish of Trinity Church (Manhattan), Trinity Church has three separate cemetery, burial grounds associated with it in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The first, Trinity Churchyard, is located in Lower Manhattan at 74 Trinity Place, n ...
in Manhattan. Many members of his family had joined its congregation, but Astor remained a member of the local German
Reformed congregation to his death.
[James Parton (1865). ]
Life of John Jacob Astor: To which is appended a Copy of his last will
'. New York: The American News Comp. p. 81. In the short story ''
Bartleby, the Scrivener,''
Herman Melville
Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works ar ...
used Astor as a symbol of men who made the earliest fortunes in New York.
The pair of marble lions that sit by the entrance of the
New York Public Library Main Branch
The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (commonly known as the Main Branch, the 42nd Street Library, or just the New York Public Library) is the flagship building in the New York Public Library system in the Midtown Manhattan, Midtown neighborhood ...
at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street were originally named Leo Astor and Leo Lenox, after Astor and
James Lenox, who founded the library from his own collection. Next, they were called Lord Astor and Lady Lenox (both lions are males). Mayor
Fiorello La Guardia
Fiorello Henry La Guardia (born Fiorello Raffaele Enrico La Guardia; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives and served as the 99th mayor of New Yo ...
renamed them "Patience" and "Fortitude" during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
.
The neighborhood of
Astoria in
Queens
Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
, New York City, is named after Astor.
Astor Place
Astor Place is a street in NoHo/ East Village, in the lower part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is divided into two sections: One segment runs from Broadway in the west (just below East 8th Street) to Lafayette Street, an ...
in Manhattan, New York City, was named after Astor, soon after his death.
The coastal town of
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is a Port, port city in and the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the ...
, is named after Astor, as well as an elementary school named in his honor. The background to the founding of this town is described in Washington Irving's ''
Astoria,'' a book whose writing was financed by Astor.
The historic neighborhood of Astor Park in
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the head of Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the F ...
, is named after Astor. In 1835, John Jacob Astor founded the Town of Astor in Wisconsin. After the Town of Astor was united with the Town of Navarino to form the Borough of Green Bay, one neighborhood was named after him.
In 1908, when the
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
club
FC Astoria Walldorf was formed in Astor's birthplace in Germany, the group added "Astoria" to its name in his, and the family's, honor.
"Warum heißen die so? Heute: FC Astoria Walldorf"
. Fussball.de. December 8, 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
See also
* Russian-American Company
* Astor family
The Astor family achieved prominence in business sector, business, Socialite, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With Germans, German roots, some of their ancestry goes back to th ...
* Astoria (book)
* Astor Place
Astor Place is a street in NoHo/ East Village, in the lower part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is divided into two sections: One segment runs from Broadway in the west (just below East 8th Street) to Lafayette Street, an ...
* Astor Row
* List of richest Americans in history
Comparing wealth of individuals across large spans of time is difficult, as the value of money and assets is heavily dependent on the time period. There are various methods of comparing individuals' wealth across time, including using Real versu ...
* List of Freemasons
This page provides links to alphabetized lists of notable Freemasons. Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation which exists in a number of forms worldwide. Throughout history some members of the fraternity have made no secret of their involvem ...
* Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
* Joseph LaBarge – Steamboat captain hired by Astor and the American Fur Company, his primary shipper.
Notes
References
*
*
* .
* .
* .
*
Further reading
Books
* Brands, H. W.
Masters of Enterprise: Giants of American Business from John Jacob Astor and J. P. Morgan to Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey
' (1999).
* Ebeling, Herbert C.; Horn, W. O. ''Johann Jacob Astor – Ein Lebensbild aus dem Volke, für das Volk und seine Jugend'' (in German). Walldorf: Astor-Stiftung (2004).
* Emmerich, Alexander. ''John Jacob Astor and the First Great American Fortune'' (2013).
*
*
*
excerpt
*
*
* Waldrup, Carole Chandler. ''More Colonial Women: 25 Pioneers of Early America''. McFarland, 2004
Articles
* .
* Youngman, Anna. "The Fortune of John Jacob Astor," ''Journal of Political Economy,''
*
Part 1: vol. 16, no. 6 (June 1908), pp. 345–368
*
Part 2: vol. 16, no. 7 (July 1908), pp. 436–441
*
Part 3: vol. 16, no. 8 (Oct. 1908), pp. 514–530
External links
Astor family papers, 1792–1916
at the New York Public Library
The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...
John Jacob Astor Business Records at Baker Library Historical Collections, Harvard Business School
The Waldorf Astoria Hotel
The "Astorhaus" in Germany, now a museum
National Portrait Gallery
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Astor, John Jacob
1763 births
1848 deaths
19th-century American merchants
American businesspeople in real estate
American Freemasons
American Fur Company people
American fur traders
American investors
American people of German descent
John Jacob
Burials at Trinity Church Cemetery
Businesspeople from New York City
Emigrants from the Holy Roman Empire
Immigrants to the Kingdom of Great Britain
Immigrants to the United States
People from Walldorf (Baden)
Pre-statehood history of Oregon