Morgan bought up the US steel industry
One of the interesting facts about J. P. Morgan is he bought the US steel industry. Morgan bought the US steel industry in the early 1900s, resulting in the creation of US Steel, the first $1 billion firm in history. The largest member of this group is Carnegie Steel, which was acquired for $480 million by Morgan and Andrew Carnegie without the use of an attorney or even a written agreement.
Morgan assumed control of JS Morgan & Co. upon the passing of his father in 1890. (renamed Morgan, Grenfell & Company in 1910). To acquire Andrew Carnegie's steel company and combine it with other steel, coal, mining, and maritime businesses, he started speaking with Charles M. Schwab, president of Carnegie Co., and the industrialist in 1900.
He founded the Federal Steel Company and combined it in 1901 with the Carnegie Steel Company and several other steel and iron companies to create the United States Steel Corporation. With an approved capitalization of $1.4 billion in 1901, U.S. Steel became the first billion-dollar company in the world, dwarfing all other industrial firms in size and being on a level with the biggest railroad companies.
The objective of US Steel is to increase economies of scale, lower resource and transportation costs, increase product lines, and enhance distribution so that the United States can compete internationally with Germany and the United Kingdom. Critics view U.S. Steel as a monopoly since it aspires to control not only the steel industry but also that of wires, nails, train cars, ships, bridges, and many other items. Morgan currently controls two-thirds of the steel market through US Steel, and Schwab is optimistic that the firm will soon own a 75 percent share.
