Carl H. Pforzheimer
| Carl H. Pforzheimer | |
|---|---|
| Residence | New York City |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Banker, philanthropist, curbstone broker |
| Known for | Helping organize the New York curb market on Broad Street, co-founding the , |
| Spouse(s) | Lily Oppenheimer Pforzheimer |
| Children | Carl Howard Pforzheimer Jr |
Carl Howard Pforzheimer (1879–1957) was an American banker and curbstone broker based in New York City.
He was a founder of the , and amassed a large fortune on Wall Street as a specialist in Standard Oil stock.
An avid collector of rare books, he built up the Carl H. Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle, which is now held at New York Public Library.
Carl H. Pforzheimer was born in 1879 in New York to Isaac and Mina Heyman Pforzheimer. He attended City College. His brothers Arthur and Walter worked together on Wall Street as young men, with Arthur later opening a rare book shop in 1933.
Early in his career he was a $4-dollar-a-week clerk on Wall Street. He later established his own firm, Carl H. Pforzheimer & Co. at the age of 23 in 1901. After the dissolution of Standard Oil Company in 1911, Pforzheimer was a "pioneer" in the trading of old Standard Oil shares and underwriting issues of companies that resulted from the break up of Standard Oil . After he formed Carl H. Pforzheimer & Co. he focused on the oil and gas industry, The NY Times writes that the firm was "instrumental in the underwriting of the securities of a number of oil companies at a time when Wall Street had developed little interest in the petroleum industry." He was president of the Petroleum and Trading Corporation.
Pforzheimer was a "charter member" of the Curb Exchange in New York, and his firm also belonged to the . On March 16, 1911, the Curb Association elected its first Board of Representatives. The board corresponded to the Governing Committee of the Stock Exchange and had the "task of keeping the outside market in order." Members included Pforzheimer, E. S. Mendels, and others. In June 1914, he resigned from the board of representatives of the Curb Association. Pforzheimer and two other retirees had composed the Complaint Committee, had recently had their charges against Secretary Franklin Leonard dismissed by the full board. Leonard had offered to resign if the three complaint committee members resigned as well. Pforzheimer did not drop his membership in the organization.
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