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Dark Genius of Wall Street: The Misunderstood Life of Jay Gould, King of the Robber Barons
Though reviled for more than a century as Wall Street's greatest villain, Jay Gould was in fact its most original creative genius. Gould was the robber baron's robber baron, the most astute financial and business strategist of his time and also the most widely hated. In Dark Genius of Wall Street , acclaimed biographer Edward J. Renehan, Jr., combines lively anecdotes with the rich social tapestry of the Gilded Age to paint the portrait of the most talented financial buccaneer of his generation -- and one of the inventors of modern business.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
About the author
Edward J. Renehan Jr.
21 books14 followersCurrently publishing as Edward Renehan
Edward John Renehan, Jr. (born c 1956) is a publisher, consultant and writer, and onetime professional musician. He made headlines in 2008 when he was convicted of document theft.
Edward John Renehan, Jr. (born c 1956) is a publisher, consultant and writer, and onetime professional musician. He made headlines in 2008 when he was convicted of document theft.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
June 21, 2018
A fine biography of Jay Gould, a master financier and manipulator.His name is often taken in vain--with his sometimes nefarious tactics excoriated. He was born to modest circumstances, in rural New York state. He was ambitious and slowly worked his way upward in business.
The book does a nice job of describing his rise, his reverses, his great successes. Reverses? His effort to corner the gold market was undercut by President Ulysses Grant's countermoves. Later, Gould moved to develop a rail empire. There were ups and downs, but--in the end--he was a success. One learns of his shenanigans, his efforts to manipulate the stock market to his advantage (and to add to his wealth).
One gets a good sense of business in the last third of the 19th century. One also gets a sense of some of the major figures of the time, such as "Commodore" Vanderbilt. The book is evenhanded on Gould, noting that he was not a completely evil person as some alleged at the time. In the end, a nicely balanced viewpoint.
In the end, a good book. . . .
All in all, a good perspective on a controversial figure.
The book does a nice job of describing his rise, his reverses, his great successes. Reverses? His effort to corner the gold market was undercut by President Ulysses Grant's countermoves. Later, Gould moved to develop a rail empire. There were ups and downs, but--in the end--he was a success. One learns of his shenanigans, his efforts to manipulate the stock market to his advantage (and to add to his wealth).
One gets a good sense of business in the last third of the 19th century. One also gets a sense of some of the major figures of the time, such as "Commodore" Vanderbilt. The book is evenhanded on Gould, noting that he was not a completely evil person as some alleged at the time. In the end, a nicely balanced viewpoint.
In the end, a good book. . . .
All in all, a good perspective on a controversial figure.
August 13, 2017
Jay Gould is one of the most interesting people I knew almost nothing about before reading this. Adjusted for GDP, he was the 8th richest person ever to live in the US.
According to people of his day he was basically Lex Luther.
And some of the stories of his life are incredible - like fleeing the New York police with $7 million in cash in a duffel bag! Bribery, stock manipulation, cornering the gold market and crashing the stock market, strike breaking, and tons of other crazy stories.
The biography is solid but partly because the content is so amazing, but also because of the perspective of the biographer. He argues that Gould may have done some shady things but, outside the bribery, it was never illegal in his time and everyone else in business at the time was doing the same thing (including the bribery). It just so happened that Gould was a lot better at it than everyone else.
The author also portrays a highly devoted family man that was home almost every night and was a good husband and father.
If, like me, you didn't know much about Jay Gould, you should read this.
According to people of his day he was basically Lex Luther.
And some of the stories of his life are incredible - like fleeing the New York police with $7 million in cash in a duffel bag! Bribery, stock manipulation, cornering the gold market and crashing the stock market, strike breaking, and tons of other crazy stories.
The biography is solid but partly because the content is so amazing, but also because of the perspective of the biographer. He argues that Gould may have done some shady things but, outside the bribery, it was never illegal in his time and everyone else in business at the time was doing the same thing (including the bribery). It just so happened that Gould was a lot better at it than everyone else.
The author also portrays a highly devoted family man that was home almost every night and was a good husband and father.
If, like me, you didn't know much about Jay Gould, you should read this.
December 22, 2010
Really liked the book as I learned a lot about Gould's life and how life was back then in general. I would have enjoyed more details and information, but I don't know if that is impossible or not due to lack of records.
One thing that amazed me was the simple fact that people back then spent an amazing amount of time and effort just trying to stay alive, something which most people nowadays can't comprehend.
Another interesting thing for me is the traits of Gould that made him a successful person. An extraordinary work ethic and simple desire to become wealthy contributed greatly to Gould's success. He was single-minded about business in the same way Buffett is single-minded.
One thing that amazed me was the simple fact that people back then spent an amazing amount of time and effort just trying to stay alive, something which most people nowadays can't comprehend.
Another interesting thing for me is the traits of Gould that made him a successful person. An extraordinary work ethic and simple desire to become wealthy contributed greatly to Gould's success. He was single-minded about business in the same way Buffett is single-minded.
April 16, 2021
The comic book version of Jay Gould which most of us learned in school and this version are very different. Gould was a creative financier who exploited existing conditions in the financial markets against a host of famous investors. He moved stocks and companies fiercely. But many of his techniques were mirrored by others at the time. Bear Raids (where an investor forces the price of a stock down), and flimsy capitalization; and exploiting various financing techniques were eventually changed after several financial panics. But he also used the legal system to his great advantage including working closely with the Tammany machine. What he did was often aggressive but not illegal. (at the time)
Gould's focus was railroads including the Erie and the Union and Missouri Pacific and a host of other companies. Many at the time, and many histories we read today said he was one of the original corporate raiders and that picture is just too simple. For a good part of his career he actually did two contradictory things - he did indeed exploit several of the companies he owned but at the same time Renehan explains that Gould had a good sense about how to improve a company - so for example on the UP he spent a good deal of his time in semi-annual trips along the line thinking about how the route was functioning and improving performance. The financial devil image is just to simplified. He clearly was a man of his times and certainly one of the best of his type.
The book also does a good job in explaining some of Gould's associates including Jim Fiske. He does not discount the horrible efforts of the two partners in the Credit Mobilier Scandal or in his attempt to corner the gold market. The author also paints a picture of Gould's attention to his family.
I got one footnote out of this which was personally interesting. My great great grandfather was, in family lore, a partner to Gould. Turns out that when Gould was ousted from the UP, my relative was one of the people on the other side which forced Gould out.
The book includes an epilogue which details the generations after Gould. I found that very interesting.
Gould's focus was railroads including the Erie and the Union and Missouri Pacific and a host of other companies. Many at the time, and many histories we read today said he was one of the original corporate raiders and that picture is just too simple. For a good part of his career he actually did two contradictory things - he did indeed exploit several of the companies he owned but at the same time Renehan explains that Gould had a good sense about how to improve a company - so for example on the UP he spent a good deal of his time in semi-annual trips along the line thinking about how the route was functioning and improving performance. The financial devil image is just to simplified. He clearly was a man of his times and certainly one of the best of his type.
The book also does a good job in explaining some of Gould's associates including Jim Fiske. He does not discount the horrible efforts of the two partners in the Credit Mobilier Scandal or in his attempt to corner the gold market. The author also paints a picture of Gould's attention to his family.
I got one footnote out of this which was personally interesting. My great great grandfather was, in family lore, a partner to Gould. Turns out that when Gould was ousted from the UP, my relative was one of the people on the other side which forced Gould out.
The book includes an epilogue which details the generations after Gould. I found that very interesting.
April 11, 2020
What I took away: The author tries to defend Gould since he's mostly considered a villain and the worst form of capitalist: a ruthless speculator who built nothing and manipulated the world of finance to his own benefit and no one else's. The only defense is that the people Gould was competing against were just as bad if not worse. Gould was just better at what he did: smarter, more ruthless.
People who mythologize capitalism hold up heroes like Gould as people who rose from meager beginnings and helped build the country. Gould owned railroads and railroads helped the country prosper, right? What Gould really did was he bribed government officials, broke up unions, drove the stock market into a panic, and bullied his way into leadership positions so he could have more power to do more bullying and speculating.
My understanding of speculating is that if you can understand the market you can manipulate it (like any system). You can play games with finance to make money. Through gambling and manipulation of abstract ideas of wealth, you can make money. The author mentions that people who criticize Gould erroneously see Capitalism as a zero-sum game. But what Gould was doing was capitalism, it was speculation. If Gould wasn't producing anything, yet he built his fortune, he had to be taking it out of the hands of someone else. Not to mention the uncapitalistic measures he took to hold onto his wealth: the pact he made with other Railroads to not wage a price war and then get the government involved to get around price-fixing laws.
Should he be praised for his genius in being able to manipulate the market? Just because you can do something does that mean you should? And all of his scheming and power was for what? His children squabbled over his fortune after his death. What was the point? A desire to control? A desire for power?
People who mythologize capitalism hold up heroes like Gould as people who rose from meager beginnings and helped build the country. Gould owned railroads and railroads helped the country prosper, right? What Gould really did was he bribed government officials, broke up unions, drove the stock market into a panic, and bullied his way into leadership positions so he could have more power to do more bullying and speculating.
My understanding of speculating is that if you can understand the market you can manipulate it (like any system). You can play games with finance to make money. Through gambling and manipulation of abstract ideas of wealth, you can make money. The author mentions that people who criticize Gould erroneously see Capitalism as a zero-sum game. But what Gould was doing was capitalism, it was speculation. If Gould wasn't producing anything, yet he built his fortune, he had to be taking it out of the hands of someone else. Not to mention the uncapitalistic measures he took to hold onto his wealth: the pact he made with other Railroads to not wage a price war and then get the government involved to get around price-fixing laws.
Should he be praised for his genius in being able to manipulate the market? Just because you can do something does that mean you should? And all of his scheming and power was for what? His children squabbled over his fortune after his death. What was the point? A desire to control? A desire for power?
June 25, 2010
An interesting take on the life of one of the best and brightest financiers of all time. His management skills were quite good and the author argues that he actually contributed a great deal to society through his capitalistic stock manipulations. I was greatly hoping for some better description of what exactly these stock manipulations entailed; but I still only have a vague idea of what a bear trap is and how one makes money at it. The book really made me want to play Railroad Tycoon though and was worth reading, if a bit long.
February 21, 2016
I wish this book gave any sense of whether Gould was, for instance, good for the businesses he took over, or whether he was just jamming his blood-funnel into railroad after railroad. Instead the book spends its time trying to convince us that Gould was a decent human being who's been unfairly demonized. Yet it really gives very little evidence to suggest that Gould *was* a decent human being. So it doesn't even aim for the goal that ordinary humans should care about, and it fails at the one goal that it *does* aim for.
April 28, 2009
This is an interesting and well written book. it contains a bizarre epilogue about the offspring of Gould and their lives. perhaps the best reason to read this book is to understand the basis of some modern laws regarding stock manipulation that are designed to counteract the strategems used by Gould.
July 1, 2018
I've always assumed Gould wasn't as much a villain as portrayed. That doesn't mean I'm interested in reading about his canonization. I thought this would be a balanced view but it defends the man almost as one-sidedly as his long ago critics demonized him. Wonder how many books I'd have to read to find the real dude. Setting this one aside unfinished.
September 18, 2016
An interesting read about about a huge name of Wall Street Lore. Definitely worth a read.
March 9, 2021
Jay Gould. Fascinating guy. Pretty well written book.
Most people’s first take, and the generally accepted narrative, is that Jay was a rapacious criminal boardering on a sociopath. An icon for a heartless age of capitalism.
This book convincingly argues that Jay was merely a product of his time. He engaged in many of the same acts as his fellow Titans of industry. He donated to charity in similar amounts as his peers. What’s happened is that he’s become a sort of scapegoat for the passions of the time. This book was a great reminder that it’s a lot easier to judge than understand.
I don’t know if it was my attention span for the book, or the book itself, but I really felt like it wandered in the second half. I kept getting interrupted while reading, and that can really screw up your perception of a book so I want to give it a chance, but I didn’t like it enough to reread it, so maybe that’s my answer. There was a combination of too much information about things I wasn’t quite interested in and not enough information on the stuff I wanted to know when discussing his transactions and dealings. There was a chapter about Jay finagling the rights to a telegraph invention Thomas Edison had, before he was the big “wizard of Menlo Park“ and I thought that was really well done. But some of the railroad stuff gets repetitive. Pick two letters put the weird and sign in there and then talk about how it’s poorly managed and Jay went all vulture capitalist on it and you get the idea. That’s probably how people will feel about various marketing tech companies with missing vowels and their buyouts/IPOs in 150 years.
Worth a read if you want a sort of personal biography that takes you through the middle to late 1800s, if you like biographies about Rockefeller, Carnegie, Vanderbilt, or if you’re looking for a medium difficulty tome about railroad business dealings.
Most people’s first take, and the generally accepted narrative, is that Jay was a rapacious criminal boardering on a sociopath. An icon for a heartless age of capitalism.
This book convincingly argues that Jay was merely a product of his time. He engaged in many of the same acts as his fellow Titans of industry. He donated to charity in similar amounts as his peers. What’s happened is that he’s become a sort of scapegoat for the passions of the time. This book was a great reminder that it’s a lot easier to judge than understand.
I don’t know if it was my attention span for the book, or the book itself, but I really felt like it wandered in the second half. I kept getting interrupted while reading, and that can really screw up your perception of a book so I want to give it a chance, but I didn’t like it enough to reread it, so maybe that’s my answer. There was a combination of too much information about things I wasn’t quite interested in and not enough information on the stuff I wanted to know when discussing his transactions and dealings. There was a chapter about Jay finagling the rights to a telegraph invention Thomas Edison had, before he was the big “wizard of Menlo Park“ and I thought that was really well done. But some of the railroad stuff gets repetitive. Pick two letters put the weird and sign in there and then talk about how it’s poorly managed and Jay went all vulture capitalist on it and you get the idea. That’s probably how people will feel about various marketing tech companies with missing vowels and their buyouts/IPOs in 150 years.
Worth a read if you want a sort of personal biography that takes you through the middle to late 1800s, if you like biographies about Rockefeller, Carnegie, Vanderbilt, or if you’re looking for a medium difficulty tome about railroad business dealings.
August 16, 2023
An interesting and detailed biography!
I liked it a lot because the book is quite thorough about Jay Gould's life - one can chose whether to skip descriptions of the big family tree, who build what houses or public reactions to certain event, but also the reader has an opportunity to appreciate many details about what business / investing practices were prevalent back in the Gilded Age.
I did not read much about robber barrons before thus this was a shocking and delightful at the same time. OMG people did those days!
For instance, hostile takeovers were done by actually destroying the value of the company being taken over - introducing unfavorable legislation (via bribes to politicians), spreading rumors (via own newspapers and elsewhere), shorting the stock en masse. Then it could even go through bankruptcy (via bribes to judges) to friendly receivers while silently the stake being built at rock bottom prices. Once directors were replaced (again, corrupt judges helped) - the company would be talked up in press again. Then - new big stock issue, severely diluting shareholders, but not new acquirers as they were in position to channel these funds into own hands and were shorting their own stock on the side as well.
Wild - does not even start to describe it!
I liked it a lot because the book is quite thorough about Jay Gould's life - one can chose whether to skip descriptions of the big family tree, who build what houses or public reactions to certain event, but also the reader has an opportunity to appreciate many details about what business / investing practices were prevalent back in the Gilded Age.
I did not read much about robber barrons before thus this was a shocking and delightful at the same time. OMG people did those days!
For instance, hostile takeovers were done by actually destroying the value of the company being taken over - introducing unfavorable legislation (via bribes to politicians), spreading rumors (via own newspapers and elsewhere), shorting the stock en masse. Then it could even go through bankruptcy (via bribes to judges) to friendly receivers while silently the stake being built at rock bottom prices. Once directors were replaced (again, corrupt judges helped) - the company would be talked up in press again. Then - new big stock issue, severely diluting shareholders, but not new acquirers as they were in position to channel these funds into own hands and were shorting their own stock on the side as well.
Wild - does not even start to describe it!
April 19, 2023
This is a solid book on the life of Jay Gould, otherwise known as the Mephistopheles of Wall Street. Gould’s reign as a top stock operator lasted from the late 1860s to the early 1890s, and he was the personification of the Gilded Age dark arts that corrupted securities exchanges and corporate board rooms. Understanding the tactics used by Gould is important to appreciate why the Securities Act of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934 are so important. Gould was more enigmatic than many of the Gilded Age stock operators because he executed his schemes quietly. For students of financial history, understanding the life and times of this man are essential, and this book is a solid resource.
October 20, 2019
Book was OK, beginning was long with details of his early life not related to his success in business. It was interesting to learn how high the stock price's of the railroads were in the late 1800's. The government corruption back then is not surprising or how people with money took advantage of it to substantially increase their wealth. The press was relentless in portraying him in the worst way possible. His ability to understand and use the press he did not control was impressive. Would have like to more details on his relationship and business dealings with Edison. Also would have liked more detail on his involvement with the telegraph business.
December 26, 2022
In general, biographer Edward J Renehan Jr. remains neutral and unbiased about his subject in Dark Genius of Wall Street: The Misunderstood Life of Jay Gould, King of the Robber Barons. Compared to his better-known contemporaries—such as Commodore Vanderbilt or John D. Rockefeller—Gould was probably the worst. This detailed biography unfolds in mostly chronological order, making it easier to keep track of all of Gould’s complicated trading and takeover strategies. He was creative but endlessly ruthless in his many, many schemes. Renehan includes an interesting Epilogue about Gould’s numerous descendants. A family tree would have been helpful here.
April 27, 2018
What a guy Jay gould, a surveyor, a railroad tycoon and a wireless telegraph company is his empire and a great investor of all things wall street. He had a wealth of 125 million dollars at the time of his death in 1892, wow that is impressive eighth all time riches man. He was also a big family man and wanted to spend more time with his wife. I would have given it 5 stars of it hadn't been talking about other guilded age business men of the age, but overall a great book.
August 28, 2020
Somewhat revisionist take on financier Jay Gould, who was reviled in his day but perhaps somewhat more reformed in the second half of his life than for what his contemporaries gave him credit. Gould's extensive holdings over his life touched his attempts to corner the gold market, but also telegraphs, railroads and other key 19th century industries. He put his stamp on all of them.
November 23, 2020
One reason Jay Gould made so much money was because he always remembered:
"Time is Flying Fast."
Dream Big.
Work with People You Trust.
Keep Your Eye on Big Prizes, even when faced with setbacks.
Key lessons for me:
How Did He Get So Smart?
How do I think such big dreams, then engineer them to happen?
"Time is Flying Fast."
Dream Big.
Work with People You Trust.
Keep Your Eye on Big Prizes, even when faced with setbacks.
Key lessons for me:
How Did He Get So Smart?
How do I think such big dreams, then engineer them to happen?
August 12, 2021
I loved the details around Gould's financial manipulations. This is a person who mastered the tools at his disposal and wielded them adeptly. It's crazy to think that much of what he and the other major players at the time were doing to manipulate stocks was legal at the time and would never be allowed today.
December 24, 2018
Good book on a very interesting man. Biggest takeaway for me was how one can use bad press to his advantage and build a mystic around oneself. I couldn’t care less about judging him good or bad I only seek to learn.
May 1, 2021
A solid enjoyable biography on Jay Gould, his childhood, his financial shenanigans and his personal life, I found what happened to his fortune after his passing and distributed to his children perhaps the most interesting part of the biography.
June 22, 2022
Did not enjoy this one. Some great history of the era, but in the end there’s nothing for me to hang my hat on. He wasn’t US President, didn’t build or invent anything, his financial wizardry wasn’t effectively explained to me(obviously). A big time waste.
February 9, 2023
fascinating. It took me a while to finish it but I was enjoying reading it. Wall Street hasn't changed since mid 1800s. An inside look into how fortune was made by manipulation and purchase of stocks.
July 15, 2017
I really didn't like this book. A bit long and just not very compelling.
September 11, 2018
interesting but a bit too much 'inside baseball' with all the various complex schemes.
June 30, 2020
People don't remember the 19th century has more genius than Rockefeller. This is one of them.
April 2, 2022
I found Gould to be a fascinating person but I wish the book was a little clearer on some of Gould's investment strategies. He was one of a kind.
January 10, 2023
Boring whitewashing of Jay Gould. Goes on about his personal life, but not that deep on his financial dealings. Decent chapter on the gold corner.
August 17, 2019
A quick read and very interesting!
February 17, 2017
Another interesting biography from the era of unregulated stock markets. Apparently despised by contemporaries, because of his ability to manipulate be market better than they could, the book does demonstrate that he was not completely devoid of character and did play a key part in the railroad and telegraph industries.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews