Summary of Ron Chernow's The House of Morgan

By IRB Media

Get the Summary of Ron Chernow's The House of Morgan in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. Original book introduction: Winner of the National Book Award and now considered a classic, The House of Morgan is the most ambitious history ever written about an American banking dynasty. Acclaimed by the Wall Street Journal as "brilliantly researched and written", the book tells the rich, panoramic story of four generations of Morgans and the powerful, secretive firms they spawned. It is the definitive account of the rise of the modern financial world. A gripping history of banking and the booms and busts that shaped the world on both sides of the Atlantic, The House of Morgan traces the trajectory of the J. P.Morgan empire from its obscure beginnings in Victorian London to the crash of 1987. Ron Chernow paints a fascinating portrait of the private saga of the Morgans and the rarefied world of the American and British elite in which they moved. Based on extensive interviews and access to the family and business archives, The House of Morgan is an investigative masterpiece, a compelling account of a remarkable institution and the men who ran it, and an essential book for understanding the money and power behind the major historical events of the last 150 years.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jun 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781638155454

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Insights from Part I

#1

In 1835, the world and specifically America were experiencing a dire financial crisis due to rising debt and interest payments.

#2

Around this time, the United States underwent the construction of railways, canals and turnpikes, funded mostly by bonds issued in London, which was the nucleus of the financial world at that point in history.

#3

The Morgans have always been a rich family. Sixteen years after the Mayflower reached American shores, the first Morgans arrived, in 1636, and settled in Hartford, Connecticut.

#4

By the 1800s, the Morgans owned several companies, including railroad, stagecoach, canal, and steamboat businesses, and the Aetna Fire Insurance Company.

#5

In 1836, Junius Morgan began his career as a businessman in dry goods. Shortly after, he and Juliet Pierpont got married. They welcomed their first son John Pierpont in 1837. He was named after Juliet’s father, who was pastor of Boston’s Hollis Street Church. The family called him Pierpont.

#6

In 1854, Junius joined the merchant banking firm George Peabody and Company. After Peabody left the business world a decade later and dedicated his life to philanthropy, Junius took the reins and renamed the firm J.S. Morgan and Company.

#7

After studying in Switzerland and Germany, Pierpont formed the private banking firm J.P. Morgan and Company at 54 Exchange Place, New York, with his cousin James J. Goodwin, in 1864. Pierpont’s firm became an agent for his father’s, and slowly became known as