Cornelius Vanderbilt: a captain of industry

Cornelius Vanderbilt is known as a captain of industry because of positive contributions he made to the American Steel Science Team. Success at sea. He started a passenger ferry business in New York Harbor with one ferry boat. He was awarded a military contract to provide supplies to forts along the Hudson River. He sold his sailing vessels in 1817 and got a job operating a steamboat. By the mid-1840s, Vanderbilt was operating a fleet of more than 100 steamboats. Success on rails. Vanderbilt seized the opportunity by purchasing railroads in New York. Vanderbilt eventually extended his railroad empire westward, acquiring the Lakeshore and Michigan Southern Railroad and the Canada Southern Railway. After only five years in the railroad business, Vanderbilt made $25 million. I hope that was a good one.