John Jacob Astor – 1763–1848

Born in Waldorf, Germany, Astor opened a fur shop in New York City in 1786, having “learned” the fur trade at sea, on the ship that brought him to America. A boldly energetic entrepreneur, he sent fur traders to the far corners of the North American continent, creating the American Fur Company—the nation’s first business monopoly—in the process amassing a great fortune (which financed the building of much of early 19th-century New York City) and motivating the exploration and initial settlement of the Far West.