Man Makes Millions through Steamboats
By, Daniela Salgado
Sixty-year-old Cornelius Vanderbilt made an assumed $40 million dollars at the end of his adventures with the steamboat line.
Mr. Vanderbilt first saved $9,000 dollars to make his own company and proceeded to make a line of steamboats from his home in New York. This steamboat line stretches to New Brunswick and New Jersey. This line of steamboats also serves on to Philadelphia territory. After this was established, there was a sudden migration to California and this caused traffic with the steamboat business began to grow even more. When his line of steamboats started to infect the public Vanderbilt assumed the name “Commodore” because of his high priority among the top steamboat men.
It started with Vanderbilt competing with his “opponent” also, at this time having a monopoly on the steamboat area, Fulton and Livingston by charging one dollar instead of the opponent’s four dollar passenger fee. But Vanderbilt’s loss didn’t cost him much because the money was recuperated most of the price through food and drink. So far, his strategy is to slash prices that the other businesses have to make his product more appealing.
As of now the United States government has declared the Fulton and Livingston monopoly or other monopoly-like situations illegal. Anonymous Colleagues of Vanderbilt are telling the media that now since Fulton and Livingston are out of the picture he will start operating more openly. The steamboat business is rapidly changing with the society of today and we hope it is in the best interest of the public.