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Centuries Collide

Cody Crouch: One Percenters | Centuries Collide

January 4, 2025 | S

Cody Crouch: One Percenters | Centuries Collide
Host Cody Crouch takes us on an unforgettable ride through the moments that made the U.S.A. the country it is today.
#AmericanHistory #WorldHistory #History #Culture #Government #Economy #inActive #CodyCrouch #Money

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Centuries Collide | Cody Crouch: One Percenters | Centuries Collide | January 4, 2025
  • - i am cody crouch, and this is the craziest
  • 00:00:01.614 --> 00:00:04.050
  • Crash course on american history you'll ever see.
  • 00:00:04.050 --> 00:00:07.987
  • Buckle up.
  • 00:00:07.987 --> 00:00:09.189
  • It's time for centuries collide.
  • 00:00:09.189 --> 00:00:10.890
  • [horse whinnies] ♪♪
  • 00:00:10.890 --> 00:00:15.628
  • This is atlantic city, the town made famous by
  • 00:00:15.628 --> 00:00:18.598
  • The boardwalk, park place, and the game monopoly
  • 00:00:18.598 --> 00:00:22.402
  • Where everyone tries to become a real estate
  • 00:00:22.402 --> 00:00:24.537
  • Tycoon and put everyone else out of business.
  • 00:00:24.537 --> 00:00:26.806
  • - yeah.
  • 00:00:26.806 --> 00:00:27.874
  • - just like an actual time in history where a
  • 00:00:27.874 --> 00:00:29.542
  • Few high rollers sat down and they played their own
  • 00:00:29.542 --> 00:00:32.812
  • Game of monopoly, except that one wasn't a board
  • 00:00:32.812 --> 00:00:35.882
  • Game, it was the american economy.
  • 00:00:35.882 --> 00:00:40.186
  • ♪♪
  • 00:00:40.186 --> 00:00:44.891
  • As the 1800s came to a close, we moved away
  • 00:00:44.891 --> 00:00:47.727
  • From small family farms.
  • 00:00:47.727 --> 00:00:49.596
  • Americans moved on up and into the urban sprawl of
  • 00:00:49.596 --> 00:00:53.766
  • Industrialization and into a shiny new version
  • 00:00:53.766 --> 00:00:56.736
  • Of the american dream, and then came the tycoons
  • 00:00:56.736 --> 00:01:00.640
  • And the tariffs, the capital, and chump change,
  • 00:01:00.640 --> 00:01:03.409
  • The type of stuff monopolies are made of.
  • 00:01:03.409 --> 00:01:06.179
  • Not the board game, but the illegal corporations
  • 00:01:06.179 --> 00:01:08.781
  • Owned by the rich and powerful, the dreaded 1%.
  • 00:01:08.781 --> 00:01:13.720
  • So today we're going to roll back time and meet
  • 00:01:13.720 --> 00:01:15.388
  • These notorious one percenters who invented
  • 00:01:15.388 --> 00:01:18.158
  • The game that we now call commerce.
  • 00:01:18.158 --> 00:01:20.827
  • ♪♪
  • 00:01:20.827 --> 00:01:27.367
  • From the end of
  • 00:01:27.367 --> 00:01:28.535
  • The civil war to the beginning the 20th century,
  • 00:01:28.535 --> 00:01:31.004
  • These were game-changing years for the
  • 00:01:31.004 --> 00:01:33.773
  • Entire world.
  • 00:01:33.773 --> 00:01:35.175
  • But what did the american economy look like
  • 00:01:35.175 --> 00:01:37.343
  • In the 1800s?
  • 00:01:37.343 --> 00:01:39.379
  • It looked a lot like this.
  • 00:01:39.379 --> 00:01:40.747
  • Think brick and mortar etsy shops, family
  • 00:01:40.747 --> 00:01:43.249
  • Farms and farmer's markets.
  • 00:01:43.249 --> 00:01:45.318
  • Once upon a time, this was about the only work
  • 00:01:45.318 --> 00:01:47.787
  • Options americans have.
  • 00:01:47.787 --> 00:01:49.689
  • - can i interest you in some farm?
  • 00:01:49.689 --> 00:01:51.291
  • Fresh, homegrown cheese?
  • 00:01:51.291 --> 00:01:53.126
  • I milked a cow myself. or some leather goods.
  • 00:01:53.126 --> 00:01:56.596
  • I personally skinned and killed the cow, not in
  • 00:01:56.596 --> 00:02:00.033
  • That order, or perhaps a gluten-free
  • 00:02:00.033 --> 00:02:02.502
  • Whoopie cushion.
  • 00:02:02.502 --> 00:02:04.437
  • It's made from the finest of pig lung.[flatulence]
  • 00:02:04.437 --> 00:02:07.073
  • - cousins of cousins and all of their cousins all
  • 00:02:07.073 --> 00:02:09.642
  • Lived close to form farming communities who
  • 00:02:09.642 --> 00:02:12.645
  • Relied on each other to survive.
  • 00:02:12.645 --> 00:02:14.747
  • In the mid 1800s, europe created the first
  • 00:02:14.747 --> 00:02:17.450
  • Wave of industrialization.
  • 00:02:17.450 --> 00:02:19.953
  • This brought machine labor to the farm.
  • 00:02:19.953 --> 00:02:23.289
  • Centuries old family farms just couldn't
  • 00:02:23.289 --> 00:02:25.792
  • Compete with big ag.
  • 00:02:25.792 --> 00:02:28.328
  • Sound familiar?
  • 00:02:28.328 --> 00:02:29.862
  • And this was like way back then.
  • 00:02:29.862 --> 00:02:33.533
  • Pretty soon the same exact thing started
  • 00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:36.269
  • Happening in america.
  • 00:02:36.269 --> 00:02:39.572
  • [blows whistle] - lunch break.
  • 00:02:39.572 --> 00:02:44.711
  • - you ever think about life back on the farm?
  • 00:02:44.711 --> 00:02:47.280
  • - no.
  • 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:48.081
  • I don't remember that at all.
  • 00:02:48.081 --> 00:02:49.082
  • - me too.
  • 00:02:49.082 --> 00:02:51.784
  • [blows whistle] - back to work.
  • 00:02:51.784 --> 00:02:53.753
  • - americans moved to the big city to find new
  • 00:02:53.753 --> 00:02:56.723
  • Types of work, and this changed american life forever.
  • 00:02:56.723 --> 00:03:01.761
  • We traded animals and soil for factory floors and
  • 00:03:01.761 --> 00:03:05.365
  • Steam powered machines.
  • 00:03:05.365 --> 00:03:07.267
  • Work was hard.
  • 00:03:07.267 --> 00:03:08.801
  • Hours were long.
  • 00:03:08.801 --> 00:03:10.236
  • No such thing as hump day and nobody was working
  • 00:03:10.236 --> 00:03:12.739
  • For the weekend.
  • 00:03:12.739 --> 00:03:14.407
  • - what on earth is a weekend?
  • 00:03:14.407 --> 00:03:17.443
  • I don't know.
  • 00:03:17.443 --> 00:03:20.813
  • - but here's the silver lining.
  • 00:03:20.813 --> 00:03:22.949
  • Wealth began to emerge across the board.
  • 00:03:22.949 --> 00:03:25.885
  • Instead of selling what you grew or what you
  • 00:03:25.885 --> 00:03:28.521
  • Made, never really sure of your profits,
  • 00:03:28.521 --> 00:03:31.457
  • The new game for the 99% was industrialized wage
  • 00:03:31.457 --> 00:03:35.561
  • Labor, aka hourly wages like we have today.
  • 00:03:35.561 --> 00:03:40.333
  • [blows whistle] - payday.
  • 00:03:40.333 --> 00:03:43.369
  • - what is that?
  • 00:03:43.369 --> 00:03:44.771
  • - it's called a paycheck.
  • 00:03:44.771 --> 00:03:47.040
  • - you mean i get one of these for every hour i do
  • 00:03:47.040 --> 00:03:49.242
  • This, even if all the work ain't done yet?
  • 00:03:49.242 --> 00:03:52.245
  • I don't get it.
  • 00:03:52.245 --> 00:03:54.414
  • - you'll get one every other tuesday.
  • 00:03:54.414 --> 00:03:56.783
  • - i'm in. - this new economy, cities
  • 00:03:56.783 --> 00:03:59.786
  • Boomed. economic gain was the new name of the game
  • 00:03:59.786 --> 00:04:03.656
  • In america.
  • 00:04:03.656 --> 00:04:08.027
  • ♪♪
  • 00:04:08.261 --> 00:04:11.931
  • Americans of all classes could now participate in
  • 00:04:11.931 --> 00:04:14.434
  • The crazy, risk-filled art of making money.
  • 00:04:14.434 --> 00:04:18.071
  • Anyone could roll the dice, and they did.
  • 00:04:18.071 --> 00:04:21.474
  • Let me set up the game for you.
  • 00:04:21.474 --> 00:04:23.910
  • ♪♪
  • 00:04:23.910 --> 00:04:27.313
  • - well, thank you, thank you, thank you.
  • 00:04:27.313 --> 00:04:29.749
  • I'll kiss that baby afterwards.
  • 00:04:29.749 --> 00:04:31.984
  • Hello and welcome to the capitalist game.
  • 00:04:31.984 --> 00:04:34.654
  • It is now time to meet our four clever and
  • 00:04:34.654 --> 00:04:36.289
  • Confident tycoons as they try to dominate the
  • 00:04:36.289 --> 00:04:38.524
  • Nation's economy and become the richest man
  • 00:04:38.524 --> 00:04:41.394
  • In america.
  • 00:04:41.394 --> 00:04:42.562
  • Here they are.
  • 00:04:42.562 --> 00:04:44.163
  • - so what were the rules to this new game?
  • 00:04:44.163 --> 00:04:46.632
  • Well, as it turns out, there were hardly any.
  • 00:04:46.632 --> 00:04:51.804
  • - our first contestant today is tycoon number one.
  • 00:04:51.804 --> 00:04:54.173
  • Step on up.
  • 00:04:54.173 --> 00:04:55.742
  • He is a self-made chipping magnate.
  • 00:04:55.742 --> 00:04:57.610
  • But don't think jeff bezos. this poor kid from
  • 00:04:57.610 --> 00:04:59.645
  • Staten island followed in his ferry boat captain
  • 00:04:59.645 --> 00:05:02.048
  • Father's footsteps and bought his first boat
  • 00:05:02.048 --> 00:05:03.850
  • With a hundred dollars loan when he was just
  • 00:05:03.850 --> 00:05:05.251
  • A teenager.
  • 00:05:05.251 --> 00:05:06.352
  • Cornelius vanderbilt.
  • 00:05:06.352 --> 00:05:08.621
  • - and when i say hardly any, i'm talking an
  • 00:05:08.621 --> 00:05:10.423
  • Unregulated stock market,
  • 00:05:10.423 --> 00:05:12.158
  • Loads of money, corrupt entrepreneurs.
  • 00:05:12.158 --> 00:05:14.961
  • I mean, what could go wrong?
  • 00:05:14.961 --> 00:05:17.530
  • Now, when vanderbilt first entered the game,
  • 00:05:17.530 --> 00:05:19.966
  • He only had one homemade wooden boat.
  • 00:05:19.966 --> 00:05:22.935
  • But in just a few short years, he controlled a
  • 00:05:22.935 --> 00:05:25.471
  • Fleet of sailing ships that ferried cargo and
  • 00:05:25.471 --> 00:05:28.441
  • Passengers from state to state.
  • 00:05:28.441 --> 00:05:30.343
  • Vanderbilt's next move was to go for regional
  • 00:05:30.343 --> 00:05:32.445
  • Steamboats on rivers and stuff to ocean going
  • 00:05:32.445 --> 00:05:36.115
  • Steam ships out on the big blue.
  • 00:05:36.115 --> 00:05:38.351
  • This dude was so full of ships that he left his
  • 00:05:38.351 --> 00:05:40.686
  • Competitors drowning in his one percenter wake.
  • 00:05:40.686 --> 00:05:44.424
  • But then vanderbilt saw the future, a new wave of
  • 00:05:44.424 --> 00:05:47.660
  • Transportation that actually had nothing to
  • 00:05:47.660 --> 00:05:50.463
  • Do with waves.
  • 00:05:50.463 --> 00:05:51.964
  • Trains.
  • 00:05:51.964 --> 00:05:53.299
  • - give me some of that choo-choo action. woo hoo!
  • 00:05:53.299 --> 00:05:56.736
  • - and let's begin. - vanderbilt landed in
  • 00:05:56.736 --> 00:05:58.471
  • Railway transportation and so did a whole lot of
  • 00:05:58.471 --> 00:06:01.774
  • Other shady wall street players.
  • 00:06:01.774 --> 00:06:04.143
  • Competition was intense.
  • 00:06:04.143 --> 00:06:06.712
  • - roll 'em boys.
  • 00:06:06.712 --> 00:06:09.682
  • - yes.
  • 00:06:09.682 --> 00:06:10.550
  • - some for me.
  • 00:06:10.550 --> 00:06:12.084
  • None for you.
  • 00:06:12.084 --> 00:06:13.619
  • More for me.
  • 00:06:13.619 --> 00:06:15.221
  • None more for you. [laughing]
  • 00:06:15.221 --> 00:06:17.623
  • - in the end, vanderbilt was victorious, but the
  • 00:06:17.623 --> 00:06:20.159
  • Financial schemes and weaponry that they
  • 00:06:20.159 --> 00:06:22.695
  • Created along the way ruined thousands of
  • 00:06:22.695 --> 00:06:25.765
  • Investors. at this stage in the game in 1866,
  • 00:06:25.765 --> 00:06:29.335
  • Vanderbilt's net worth is nearly $30 million.
  • 00:06:29.335 --> 00:06:33.606
  • - you gentlemen want some of this?
  • 00:06:33.606 --> 00:06:35.575
  • Too bad. it's all mine.
  • 00:06:35.575 --> 00:06:37.076
  • - he is officially the richest man in america.
  • 00:06:37.076 --> 00:06:41.948
  • - congratulations.
  • 00:06:41.948 --> 00:06:43.683
  • You are the richest man in america. [giddy laughter]
  • 00:06:43.683 --> 00:06:50.122
  • - by now, vanderbilt was 72 years old, but still
  • 00:06:50.122 --> 00:06:53.359
  • In the game.
  • 00:06:53.359 --> 00:06:54.494
  • And again, this not-so- spring chicken saw
  • 00:06:54.494 --> 00:06:57.663
  • The future.
  • 00:06:57.663 --> 00:06:58.865
  • - i'm going to control america's entire
  • 00:06:58.865 --> 00:07:01.968
  • Transportation network.
  • 00:07:01.968 --> 00:07:03.169
  • - bold move, commodore.
  • 00:07:03.169 --> 00:07:03.836
  • Bold move.
  • 00:07:03.836 --> 00:07:05.304
  • - new york city was the country's largest and
  • 00:07:05.304 --> 00:07:07.440
  • Busiest port with only one rail bridge in and out.
  • 00:07:07.440 --> 00:07:12.311
  • And guess who owned that bridge?
  • 00:07:12.311 --> 00:07:15.047
  • - i want to hear you say it.
  • 00:07:15.047 --> 00:07:18.317
  • - all: cornelius vanderbilt. - woo hoo!
  • 00:07:18.317 --> 00:07:22.788
  • - vanderbilt basically invented the move, the
  • 00:07:22.788 --> 00:07:26.025
  • Hostile takeover like a hundred years ago.
  • 00:07:26.025 --> 00:07:29.729
  • And here's how he did it.
  • 00:07:29.729 --> 00:07:31.264
  • Vanderbilt closes this bridge he owns and blocks
  • 00:07:31.264 --> 00:07:34.000
  • All cargo coming into new york city.
  • 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:36.702
  • His rivals lost millions of dollars.
  • 00:07:36.702 --> 00:07:40.540
  • So what they had to do was quickly sell off
  • 00:07:40.540 --> 00:07:42.642
  • Their stock.
  • 00:07:42.642 --> 00:07:44.043
  • Wall street gets a wind of it, and the stock
  • 00:07:44.043 --> 00:07:46.178
  • Market goes into a free fall.
  • 00:07:46.178 --> 00:07:48.548
  • Horrible news for the rest of the united
  • 00:07:48.548 --> 00:07:51.250
  • States, but great news for vanderbilt.
  • 00:07:51.250 --> 00:07:53.052
  • - is this where i stand?
  • 00:07:53.052 --> 00:07:54.687
  • - oh, just exactly right there.
  • 00:07:54.687 --> 00:07:56.489
  • It's perfect.
  • 00:07:56.489 --> 00:07:57.323
  • - what do i win?
  • 00:07:57.323 --> 00:07:59.258
  • - you didn't win.
  • 00:07:59.258 --> 00:08:01.027
  • - whoa. [laughter]
  • 00:08:01.027 --> 00:08:03.996
  • - what happens when you own half the nation's
  • 00:08:03.996 --> 00:08:06.866
  • Rail lines, the only cargo bridge, and then
  • 00:08:06.866 --> 00:08:09.936
  • You decide to build grand central station just to
  • 00:08:09.936 --> 00:08:13.439
  • Bring together three other rail lines that you
  • 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:15.841
  • Also happen to own?
  • 00:08:15.841 --> 00:08:17.777
  • But the other 99% of people start to wonder.
  • 00:08:17.777 --> 00:08:25.217
  • But here's the thing, cornelius, the commodore
  • 00:08:25.217 --> 00:08:27.820
  • Vanderbilt wasn't the only guy in the game with
  • 00:08:27.820 --> 00:08:31.023
  • Monopoly money.
  • 00:08:31.023 --> 00:08:33.526
  • ♪♪
  • 00:08:33.526 --> 00:08:35.996
  • ♪♪
  • 00:08:35.996 --> 00:08:37.297
  • ♪♪
  • 00:08:37.531 --> 00:08:41.268
  • - thank you, cornelius.
  • 00:08:41.268 --> 00:08:42.869
  • And now it's time for contestant number two.
  • 00:08:42.869 --> 00:08:45.572
  • He is going to give vanderbilt a run
  • 00:08:45.572 --> 00:08:47.474
  • For his money.
  • 00:08:47.474 --> 00:08:48.675
  • He always wanted to be in the music biz. meet high
  • 00:08:48.675 --> 00:08:50.844
  • School dropout,
  • 00:08:50.844 --> 00:08:51.878
  • Jd rockefeller.
  • 00:08:51.878 --> 00:08:53.547
  • - i like to play and i play to win.
  • 00:08:53.547 --> 00:08:56.249
  • Step aside boys.
  • 00:08:56.249 --> 00:08:57.317
  • Jd is about to rock you, fellas.
  • 00:08:57.317 --> 00:09:02.022
  • - let's play. - with no high school diploma,
  • 00:09:02.022 --> 00:09:04.791
  • One college level business class and a
  • 00:09:04.791 --> 00:09:07.094
  • Bookkeeping job under his belt,
  • 00:09:07.094 --> 00:09:09.229
  • Jd rockefeller rolled the dice on some pretty basic
  • 00:09:09.229 --> 00:09:12.399
  • Everyday enterprises like meat, hay, and grains.
  • 00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:16.603
  • But it didn't take long for jd to realize that
  • 00:09:16.603 --> 00:09:18.438
  • The future was an oil production.
  • 00:09:18.438 --> 00:09:21.174
  • He built his first oil refinery at the age of 24.
  • 00:09:21.174 --> 00:09:25.779
  • - i don't know how much money i have, but i know
  • 00:09:25.779 --> 00:09:27.581
  • It's a lot.
  • 00:09:27.581 --> 00:09:29.683
  • - actual quote.
  • 00:09:29.683 --> 00:09:30.917
  • - but hold the roll.
  • 00:09:30.917 --> 00:09:32.019
  • Only a few years later, jd rockefeller was on the
  • 00:09:32.019 --> 00:09:35.022
  • Verge of bankruptcy.
  • 00:09:35.022 --> 00:09:37.824
  • And guess who comes knocking on
  • 00:09:37.824 --> 00:09:39.359
  • Rockefeller's door?
  • 00:09:39.359 --> 00:09:41.962
  • - i'm still in the game, boys.
  • 00:09:41.962 --> 00:09:44.264
  • - how is this even possible?
  • 00:09:44.264 --> 00:09:46.033
  • - you give me cheap oil, and i'll give
  • 00:09:46.033 --> 00:09:48.735
  • You cheap shipping.
  • 00:09:48.735 --> 00:09:50.804
  • - how about an exclusive contract?
  • 00:09:50.804 --> 00:09:55.208
  • - yeah, it was vanderbilt himself, the
  • 00:09:55.976 --> 00:09:57.878
  • Commodore older than ever, but not about to
  • 00:09:57.878 --> 00:10:00.847
  • Turn in his tokens.
  • 00:10:00.847 --> 00:10:02.749
  • - and here's the roll.
  • 00:10:02.749 --> 00:10:05.052
  • Oh, would you look at that?
  • 00:10:05.052 --> 00:10:06.753
  • That's a pretty good number right there.
  • 00:10:06.753 --> 00:10:09.489
  • - gamblers drill,
  • 00:10:09.489 --> 00:10:10.791
  • But businessmen are more the refining type.
  • 00:10:10.791 --> 00:10:13.493
  • Say, that sounds like a direct quote from me.
  • 00:10:13.493 --> 00:10:17.164
  • - because it is. - the only problem,
  • 00:10:17.164 --> 00:10:20.534
  • Jd rockefeller didn't produce that much oil
  • 00:10:20.534 --> 00:10:24.237
  • Yet, but our little son of a snake oil salesman
  • 00:10:24.237 --> 00:10:27.007
  • Wasn't about to under deliver.
  • 00:10:27.007 --> 00:10:28.875
  • He set out to see if he could find more oil and
  • 00:10:28.875 --> 00:10:31.144
  • He struck gold.
  • 00:10:31.144 --> 00:10:34.214
  • Black gold.
  • 00:10:34.214 --> 00:10:35.716
  • - and another three!
  • 00:10:35.716 --> 00:10:37.517
  • There you go.
  • 00:10:37.517 --> 00:10:38.185
  • - on fire! hot dog.
  • 00:10:38.185 --> 00:10:39.986
  • I think i'll drill another and maybe another.
  • 00:10:39.986 --> 00:10:42.622
  • And i hear there's old down here by this cow.
  • 00:10:42.622 --> 00:10:46.660
  • That's right.
  • 00:10:46.660 --> 00:10:47.761
  • - in a very strategic move, rockefeller changed
  • 00:10:47.761 --> 00:10:50.130
  • His game to oil refining.
  • 00:10:50.130 --> 00:10:52.632
  • Others did the time consuming and
  • 00:10:52.632 --> 00:10:54.334
  • Unpredictable drilling.
  • 00:10:54.334 --> 00:10:56.169
  • And then all of them brought their oil to him
  • 00:10:56.169 --> 00:10:57.671
  • And standard oil was born. never heard of
  • 00:10:57.671 --> 00:11:02.008
  • Standard oil?
  • 00:11:02.008 --> 00:11:03.076
  • Well, i bet you have, except under its later
  • 00:11:03.076 --> 00:11:06.113
  • De monopolized names like exxon, bp, mobil,
  • 00:11:06.113 --> 00:11:11.685
  • And chevron.
  • 00:11:11.685 --> 00:11:15.122
  • ♪♪
  • 00:11:15.122 --> 00:11:19.426
  • At the ripe old age of 33 years old,
  • 00:11:19.426 --> 00:11:22.963
  • Rockefeller owned 90% of the us oil market,
  • 00:11:22.963 --> 00:11:27.100
  • But he was known to play a pretty dirty game.
  • 00:11:27.100 --> 00:11:29.936
  • He once struck a deal with vanderbilt's rival
  • 00:11:29.936 --> 00:11:32.539
  • Andrew carnegie.
  • 00:11:32.539 --> 00:11:35.041
  • Rockefeller wanted to cut out the railroad middleman.
  • 00:11:35.041 --> 00:11:38.345
  • Why pay someone else to transport your oil
  • 00:11:38.345 --> 00:11:40.580
  • When you could just dig a trench,
  • 00:11:40.580 --> 00:11:42.182
  • Put a pipe in the ground and pipe your oil
  • 00:11:42.182 --> 00:11:44.184
  • From point a to point b?
  • 00:11:44.184 --> 00:11:46.186
  • And so the game was forever changed
  • 00:11:46.186 --> 00:11:48.822
  • With a single invention.
  • 00:11:48.822 --> 00:11:51.525
  • Pipelines. standard oil workers worked around the
  • 00:11:51.525 --> 00:11:54.928
  • Clock to create an oil pipeline between
  • 00:11:54.928 --> 00:11:57.631
  • Ohio and pennsylvania.
  • 00:11:57.631 --> 00:12:00.200
  • Guess what didn't matter anymore?
  • 00:12:00.200 --> 00:12:02.068
  • That's right, railroads.
  • 00:12:02.068 --> 00:12:05.405
  • Sorry vanderbilt.
  • 00:12:05.405 --> 00:12:07.040
  • This innovation cut out rail altogether and
  • 00:12:07.040 --> 00:12:10.243
  • Immediately bankrupted 89 of our country's 364
  • 00:12:10.243 --> 00:12:14.281
  • Railroad companies and caused the very first
  • 00:12:14.281 --> 00:12:17.818
  • Major stock market crash america had ever seen.
  • 00:12:17.818 --> 00:12:22.355
  • Rockefeller was winning big time,
  • 00:12:22.355 --> 00:12:24.791
  • But guess who was losing the most?
  • 00:12:24.791 --> 00:12:27.227
  • - hello boss lady.
  • 00:12:27.227 --> 00:12:28.562
  • I'm here to collect my paycheck.
  • 00:12:28.562 --> 00:12:30.363
  • - no paychecks today. we're bankrupt.
  • 00:12:30.363 --> 00:12:33.934
  • - where did all the money go?
  • 00:12:33.934 --> 00:12:36.036
  • - the one percenters.
  • 00:12:36.036 --> 00:12:38.371
  • - this was a devastating blow to the average
  • 00:12:38.371 --> 00:12:40.874
  • Everyday worker.
  • 00:12:40.874 --> 00:12:42.409
  • But like the 2020 pandemic,
  • 00:12:42.409 --> 00:12:44.778
  • The wealthy one percenters weren't really
  • 00:12:44.778 --> 00:12:47.280
  • Affected that much.
  • 00:12:47.280 --> 00:12:48.949
  • Rockefeller was now worth the equivalent of
  • 00:12:48.949 --> 00:12:51.017
  • 225 billion in today's dollars.
  • 00:12:51.017 --> 00:12:54.688
  • - not just the richest man in america,
  • 00:12:54.688 --> 00:12:56.790
  • The richest man in the world.
  • 00:12:56.790 --> 00:12:58.725
  • Bring it in.
  • 00:12:58.725 --> 00:13:01.027
  • [applause]
  • 00:13:01.027 --> 00:13:02.262
  • Congratulations rockefeller.
  • 00:13:02.262 --> 00:13:08.995
  • Congratulations rockefeller.
  • 00:13:08.995 --> 00:13:13.073
  • - now it's time to introduce tycoon number three.
  • 00:13:14.074 --> 00:13:17.043
  • Come on up.
  • 00:13:17.043 --> 00:13:18.678
  • Welcome the telegram delivery boy with little
  • 00:13:18.678 --> 00:13:21.014
  • To no education, who memorized the addresses
  • 00:13:21.014 --> 00:13:23.516
  • Of new york's rich and powerful for later reference.
  • 00:13:23.516 --> 00:13:26.286
  • Andrew carnegie.
  • 00:13:26.286 --> 00:13:28.855
  • - no man becomes rich unless he enriches others.
  • 00:13:28.855 --> 00:13:33.326
  • - actual quote.
  • 00:13:33.326 --> 00:13:35.428
  • - like our other tycoons,
  • 00:13:35.428 --> 00:13:37.197
  • Andrew carnegie also came from a poor family.
  • 00:13:37.197 --> 00:13:40.233
  • He worked his way up from a telegram delivery boy
  • 00:13:40.233 --> 00:13:43.503
  • To the personal secretary of a rail magnet to the
  • 00:13:43.503 --> 00:13:46.539
  • Superintendent of his own rail company.
  • 00:13:46.539 --> 00:13:49.976
  • But from the beginning, he always invested;
  • 00:13:49.976 --> 00:13:53.513
  • First in sleeping cars, then bridges, and then oil.
  • 00:13:53.513 --> 00:13:57.183
  • Carnegie had the midas monopoly touch and
  • 00:13:57.183 --> 00:13:59.986
  • Carnegie saw some big problems with the way his
  • 00:13:59.986 --> 00:14:03.056
  • Fellow tycoons were playing their game.
  • 00:14:03.056 --> 00:14:05.692
  • At the time, almost every bridge was made of wood,
  • 00:14:05.692 --> 00:14:09.195
  • But with carnegie steel, they'd be much stronger
  • 00:14:09.195 --> 00:14:11.965
  • And last much longer.
  • 00:14:11.965 --> 00:14:13.600
  • Some of these guys had been in the game so long
  • 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:16.903
  • That they didn't seem to see the problem.
  • 00:14:16.903 --> 00:14:19.639
  • - oh, and we landed. pull that yellow card.
  • 00:14:19.639 --> 00:14:22.642
  • - i don't think it's for me.
  • 00:14:22.642 --> 00:14:24.511
  • - oh, hold on. lemme read that.
  • 00:14:24.511 --> 00:14:26.279
  • Oh, cornelius, you're dead.
  • 00:14:26.279 --> 00:14:29.282
  • - sorry buddy. you're out of the game.
  • 00:14:29.282 --> 00:14:33.119
  • - where am i going?
  • 00:14:33.586 --> 00:14:34.921
  • - let's just go this way,
  • 00:14:34.921 --> 00:14:36.122
  • - this way?
  • 00:14:36.122 --> 00:14:37.324
  • - everybody wanted carnegie steel and not just for
  • 00:14:37.324 --> 00:14:39.960
  • Railroads, but for buildings and warehouses,
  • 00:14:39.960 --> 00:14:43.363
  • Skyscrapers.
  • 00:14:43.363 --> 00:14:45.298
  • Urban america was exploding and
  • 00:14:45.298 --> 00:14:47.434
  • Everyone needed steel.
  • 00:14:47.434 --> 00:14:49.669
  • The steel needed to be transported on rail.
  • 00:14:49.669 --> 00:14:52.105
  • So the steel bearing carnegie and
  • 00:14:52.105 --> 00:14:53.773
  • The rail magnets worked secret handshake deals,
  • 00:14:53.773 --> 00:14:56.910
  • Which is totally illegal, by the way,
  • 00:14:56.910 --> 00:14:59.679
  • Instead of free market competition, which is legal.
  • 00:14:59.679 --> 00:15:03.149
  • But in 1890, the sherman antitrust act is passed
  • 00:15:03.149 --> 00:15:08.722
  • And it's a total game changer.
  • 00:15:08.722 --> 00:15:12.325
  • - the sherman antitrust act of 1890,
  • 00:15:12.325 --> 00:15:16.129
  • One of my favorite recipes.
  • 00:15:16.129 --> 00:15:18.031
  • It's soft and moist, and it has a special
  • 00:15:18.031 --> 00:15:20.767
  • Ingredient that makes monopolizing illegal.
  • 00:15:20.767 --> 00:15:24.804
  • Let's see how those boys liked it.
  • 00:15:24.804 --> 00:15:31.578
  • - no, i can't keep it down!
  • 00:15:32.245 --> 00:15:33.980
  • - yeah, i don't know if i can--
  • 00:15:33.980 --> 00:15:34.948
  • - shut up and eat the cake, jd.
  • 00:15:34.948 --> 00:15:37.017
  • - ladies and gentlemen, antitrust.
  • 00:15:37.017 --> 00:15:39.652
  • - antitrust works for uncle sam.
  • 00:15:39.652 --> 00:15:41.721
  • That's right. 99% of us citizens rely on me to defend
  • 00:15:41.721 --> 00:15:46.493
  • Them against monopolizing tycoons who, bless their
  • 00:15:46.493 --> 00:15:49.929
  • Poor little capitalist hearts, prey on good
  • 00:15:49.929 --> 00:15:53.066
  • American citizens. price gouging, supply and
  • 00:15:53.066 --> 00:15:56.202
  • Demand, stock market manipulation,
  • 00:15:56.202 --> 00:15:58.338
  • Anything any demand in industry will do to harm
  • 00:15:58.338 --> 00:16:01.608
  • Honest and hardworking citizens and taxpayers,
  • 00:16:01.608 --> 00:16:05.078
  • Well, antitrust has something special for them.
  • 00:16:05.078 --> 00:16:07.814
  • Just ask bill gates. isn't that right, eddie?
  • 00:16:07.814 --> 00:16:10.016
  • - that's right. - back to you, cody.
  • 00:16:10.016 --> 00:16:13.286
  • - moral of the story...
  • 00:16:13.286 --> 00:16:14.754
  • You really don't want to mess with
  • 00:16:14.754 --> 00:16:16.556
  • Sherman antitrust laws.
  • 00:16:16.556 --> 00:16:21.992
  • Sherman antitrust laws.
  • 00:16:21.992 --> 00:16:26.032
  • - now, our last tycoon actually came from wealth.
  • 00:16:27.033 --> 00:16:29.803
  • He followed his dad in the banking business.
  • 00:16:29.803 --> 00:16:31.771
  • His uncle wrote jingle bells and founded
  • 00:16:31.771 --> 00:16:33.706
  • Yale university.
  • 00:16:33.706 --> 00:16:35.208
  • And unlike jeff bezos does not like to be
  • 00:16:35.208 --> 00:16:37.243
  • Photographed. jp morgan!
  • 00:16:37.243 --> 00:16:40.380
  • - well, alright.
  • 00:16:40.380 --> 00:16:41.981
  • - before long, morgan became the most powerful
  • 00:16:41.981 --> 00:16:44.684
  • Banker in his era.
  • 00:16:44.684 --> 00:16:46.686
  • The united states had no central bank at the time.
  • 00:16:46.686 --> 00:16:49.789
  • It was actually jp morgan who bailed out
  • 00:16:49.789 --> 00:16:52.158
  • Uncle sam twice.
  • 00:16:52.158 --> 00:16:55.361
  • He supplied the gold to the us treasury
  • 00:16:55.361 --> 00:16:58.665
  • When they ran out.
  • 00:16:58.665 --> 00:17:00.467
  • So how did the average everyday american
  • 00:17:00.467 --> 00:17:03.403
  • Feel about this?
  • 00:17:03.403 --> 00:17:06.439
  • - yes, yes, yes! - we're saved!
  • 00:17:06.439 --> 00:17:11.111
  • - then it dawned on them this was way too much
  • 00:17:11.111 --> 00:17:14.214
  • Financial power for one man.
  • 00:17:14.214 --> 00:17:16.549
  • - that's a lot of power for one person to have.
  • 00:17:16.549 --> 00:17:20.320
  • Gives me bill gates and mark zuckerberg vibes.
  • 00:17:20.320 --> 00:17:27.961
  • - enter william jennings bryan,
  • 00:17:27.961 --> 00:17:30.130
  • A politician going after the monopolies of
  • 00:17:30.130 --> 00:17:32.765
  • Morgan, carnegie and rockefeller.
  • 00:17:32.765 --> 00:17:35.368
  • - uh-oh, looks like our tycoons have a problem.
  • 00:17:35.368 --> 00:17:38.138
  • - okay, tycoons,
  • 00:17:38.138 --> 00:17:39.539
  • The only solution is to buy the presidency.
  • 00:17:39.539 --> 00:17:42.976
  • - well, how much is that going to cost?
  • 00:17:42.976 --> 00:17:44.711
  • - just all of your integrity.
  • 00:17:44.711 --> 00:17:46.412
  • - that's it? i'm in.
  • 00:17:46.412 --> 00:17:47.981
  • - and after the election, our tycoons did not
  • 00:17:47.981 --> 00:17:50.483
  • Remain chummy for long.
  • 00:17:50.483 --> 00:17:51.985
  • It was back to the same raging rival shenanigans.
  • 00:17:51.985 --> 00:17:55.788
  • - mama needs a new pair of shoes!
  • 00:17:55.788 --> 00:17:59.325
  • - rockefeller was racing carnegie
  • 00:17:59.325 --> 00:18:01.094
  • For an iron deposit.
  • 00:18:01.094 --> 00:18:02.996
  • So carnegie decides to buy out rockefeller.
  • 00:18:02.996 --> 00:18:06.599
  • Meanwhile, jp morgan was going after carnegie steel.
  • 00:18:06.599 --> 00:18:11.137
  • So who won?
  • 00:18:11.137 --> 00:18:15.241
  • Well, in a way, they all did.
  • 00:18:15.909 --> 00:18:18.244
  • You see in 1901, andrew carnegie was playing golf
  • 00:18:18.244 --> 00:18:22.248
  • Like a typical one percenter.
  • 00:18:22.248 --> 00:18:24.117
  • And his right hand man, charles schwab,
  • 00:18:24.117 --> 00:18:27.020
  • Another famous financial name was his
  • 00:18:27.020 --> 00:18:29.022
  • Caddy for the day.
  • 00:18:29.022 --> 00:18:30.823
  • But caddy schwab had a little side gig
  • 00:18:30.823 --> 00:18:33.426
  • In the works.
  • 00:18:33.426 --> 00:18:34.694
  • He was scheming with jp morgan to buy out carnegie.
  • 00:18:34.694 --> 00:18:38.064
  • So he teed up the question.
  • 00:18:38.064 --> 00:18:40.466
  • Suppose morgan wanted to buy your company,
  • 00:18:40.466 --> 00:18:43.937
  • What would be your price?
  • 00:18:43.937 --> 00:18:45.705
  • That's like someone asking to buy google or
  • 00:18:45.705 --> 00:18:47.807
  • Microsoft or amazon.
  • 00:18:47.807 --> 00:18:50.610
  • Carnegie wrote down an amount he thought morgan
  • 00:18:50.610 --> 00:18:52.912
  • Would never agree to.
  • 00:18:52.912 --> 00:18:54.914
  • - congratulations mr. carnegie,
  • 00:18:54.914 --> 00:18:56.883
  • You are the current winner of the capitalist
  • 00:18:56.883 --> 00:18:58.451
  • Game and the richest man in the world!
  • 00:18:58.451 --> 00:19:02.088
  • - jp morgan got what he wanted,
  • 00:19:02.088 --> 00:19:03.823
  • The largest corporation in the world.
  • 00:19:03.823 --> 00:19:05.925
  • And carnegie got what he wanted.
  • 00:19:05.925 --> 00:19:08.728
  • Finally, beating rockefeller,
  • 00:19:08.728 --> 00:19:10.897
  • Not to mention a sales price equivalent
  • 00:19:10.897 --> 00:19:13.433
  • To $13 billion today.
  • 00:19:13.433 --> 00:19:15.902
  • - hold up players. the game's not over yet.
  • 00:19:15.902 --> 00:19:17.971
  • There's one more mystery tycoon that wants
  • 00:19:17.971 --> 00:19:19.872
  • A piece of the action.
  • 00:19:19.872 --> 00:19:21.507
  • - nah, nah, this game's over. i won already.
  • 00:19:21.507 --> 00:19:24.544
  • - bring him in. i'd like to meet him.
  • 00:19:24.544 --> 00:19:26.446
  • - no one's going to beat me. i'll tell you that.
  • 00:19:26.446 --> 00:19:28.281
  • - he's a trust busting self-made cowboy soldier
  • 00:19:28.281 --> 00:19:30.750
  • With a nobel peace prize and
  • 00:19:30.750 --> 00:19:32.151
  • A degree from harvard.
  • 00:19:32.151 --> 00:19:33.486
  • He's big on wildlife conservation and free
  • 00:19:33.486 --> 00:19:35.822
  • National parks for everyone.
  • 00:19:35.822 --> 00:19:37.257
  • And he's homeschooled.
  • 00:19:37.257 --> 00:19:40.660
  • It was me. [crowd gasps]
  • 00:19:40.660 --> 00:19:44.897
  • - vice president theodore "teddy" roosevelt was
  • 00:19:44.897 --> 00:19:47.667
  • A man of honor who couldn't be bought.
  • 00:19:47.667 --> 00:19:50.970
  • - no man is above the law.
  • 00:19:50.970 --> 00:19:54.841
  • Actual quote by me.
  • 00:19:54.841 --> 00:19:58.711
  • - and when mckinley was assassinated
  • 00:19:59.479 --> 00:20:01.147
  • A few months into his second term,
  • 00:20:01.147 --> 00:20:02.949
  • The tycoons had to deal with
  • 00:20:02.949 --> 00:20:05.518
  • President teddy roosevelt.
  • 00:20:05.518 --> 00:20:09.188
  • President roosevelt took the antitrust act and
  • 00:20:09.188 --> 00:20:11.858
  • Went after our one percenters.
  • 00:20:11.858 --> 00:20:18.431
  • - well, it took me a while to get the recipe right.
  • 00:20:19.432 --> 00:20:21.401
  • It was a little tricky, but i finally got it.
  • 00:20:21.401 --> 00:20:23.870
  • - what kind of pie is it?
  • 00:20:23.870 --> 00:20:25.605
  • - it looks cherry. - apple would be nice.
  • 00:20:25.605 --> 00:20:27.707
  • - no. humble pie.
  • 00:20:27.707 --> 00:20:29.442
  • - oh, no thanks. i'm actually watching my figure.
  • 00:20:29.442 --> 00:20:32.679
  • - the roosevelt administration sued jp morgan
  • 00:20:32.679 --> 00:20:35.948
  • Personally and then went after standard oil.
  • 00:20:35.948 --> 00:20:39.185
  • The tycoons were shocked, but roosevelt still
  • 00:20:39.185 --> 00:20:42.388
  • Had another move.
  • 00:20:42.388 --> 00:20:43.956
  • And this one changed the game for everyone.
  • 00:20:43.956 --> 00:20:47.060
  • - hello boss lady.
  • 00:20:47.060 --> 00:20:48.328
  • I'm here to collect my paycheck.
  • 00:20:48.328 --> 00:20:50.229
  • - great, here it is.
  • 00:20:50.229 --> 00:20:51.998
  • - i'm in the money!
  • 00:20:51.998 --> 00:20:56.536
  • What happened?
  • 00:20:56.536 --> 00:20:57.937
  • - income tax.
  • 00:20:57.937 --> 00:21:00.239
  • - so is it really the 1% versus the 99%?
  • 00:21:00.239 --> 00:21:04.077
  • Yes and no.
  • 00:21:04.077 --> 00:21:06.312
  • Today there are people very eager to tell you
  • 00:21:06.312 --> 00:21:08.481
  • The evils of capitalism.
  • 00:21:08.481 --> 00:21:10.850
  • But if you look throughout history,
  • 00:21:10.850 --> 00:21:12.585
  • There just aren't any other sustainable
  • 00:21:12.585 --> 00:21:15.121
  • Economic models that have created more wealth and
  • 00:21:15.121 --> 00:21:18.191
  • Lifted more everyday people out of poverty.
  • 00:21:18.191 --> 00:21:21.027
  • I mean, seriously.
  • 00:21:21.027 --> 00:21:22.895
  • How many people do you know that are begging to
  • 00:21:22.895 --> 00:21:24.597
  • Live in communist china?
  • 00:21:24.597 --> 00:21:27.600
  • While it's easy to point out the flaws of the 1%,
  • 00:21:27.600 --> 00:21:31.003
  • They're also capable of doing a lot of good.
  • 00:21:31.003 --> 00:21:34.140
  • - you can't give away money if you don't got any.
  • 00:21:34.140 --> 00:21:37.977
  • - take the guys that we've talked about today,
  • 00:21:37.977 --> 00:21:39.512
  • For example. at the time of his death,
  • 00:21:39.512 --> 00:21:41.581
  • Carnegie gave away $4.4 billion dollars.
  • 00:21:41.581 --> 00:21:45.385
  • - wait. it's not for us.
  • 00:21:45.385 --> 00:21:46.719
  • It's for the good of the world.
  • 00:21:46.719 --> 00:21:48.187
  • It's not about us, guys.
  • 00:21:48.187 --> 00:21:50.089
  • That's still good though.
  • 00:21:50.089 --> 00:21:52.125
  • Alright, our names do go on the building, right?
  • 00:21:52.125 --> 00:21:54.527
  • - let's sum it up.
  • 00:21:54.527 --> 00:21:55.762
  • Unchecked monopolies... bad.
  • 00:21:55.762 --> 00:21:58.131
  • Better systems for the 1% and the 99% to
  • 00:21:58.131 --> 00:22:01.000
  • Lift everyone up... good.
  • 00:22:01.000 --> 00:22:04.504
  • That's way easier said than done,
  • 00:22:04.504 --> 00:22:06.272
  • And there's really no perfect game.
  • 00:22:06.272 --> 00:22:08.641
  • But maybe, just maybe, if we all work together,
  • 00:22:08.641 --> 00:22:12.412
  • We can always make this free market capitalist game
  • 00:22:12.412 --> 00:22:16.315
  • Fun for everyone,
  • 00:22:16.315 --> 00:22:18.785
  • You know, the 100 percenters.
  • 00:22:18.785 --> 00:22:22.288
  • We'll see you next time.
  • 00:22:22.288 --> 00:22:22.288