Johann Jacob Astor

John Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor portrait by John Wesley Jarvis, circa 1825
Born	Johann Jakob Astor (1763-07-17)July 17, 1763 Walldorf, Electoral Palatinate, Holy Roman Empire
Died	March 29, 1848(1848-03-29) (aged 84) New York City, New York, U.S.
Resting place	Trinity Church Cemetery, New York City, New York, U.S.
Residence	New York City, New York, U.S.
Nationality	German American
Occupation	Merchant, Businessman, Investor, Fur trader
Known for	First multi-millionaire businessman in the United States
Net worth	$20 million, an Estimated US $590 million in 2016 dollars
Spouse(s)	Sarah Cox Todd (m. 1785; her death 1842)
Children	Magdalena Astor Bentzon Bristed Sarah Todd Astor John Jacob Astor Jr. William Backhouse Astor Sr. Dorothea Astor Langdon Henry Astor II Eliza Astor, Countess von Rumpf unnamed stillborn son
Parent(s)	Johann Jakob Astor Maria Magdalena Vorfelder
Relatives	See Astor family
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John Jacob Astor (July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) (born Johann Jakob Astor) was a German–American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul and investor who mainly made his fortune in fur trade and by investing in real estate in or around New York City.

Born in Germany, Astor emigrated to England as a teenager and worked as a musical instrument manufacturer. He moved to the United States after the American Revolutionary War. He entered the fur trade and built a monopoly, managing a business empire that extended to the Great Lakes region and Canada, and later expanded into the American West and Pacific coast. Seeing the decline of demand, he got out of the fur trade in 1830, diversifying by investing in New York City real estate and later becoming a famed patron of the arts.

He was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States.

Johann Jakob Astor was born in Walldorf near Heidelberg in the old Palatinate. He was the youngest son of Johann Jakob Astor (July 7, 1724 – April 18, 1816) and Maria Magdalena Vorfelder (1730–1766). His three elder brothers were Georg Peter (later "George"; April 28, 1752 – December 3, 1813), Heinrich (later "Henry"; 1754–1833), and Melchior (1759–1829). Astor's father was a butcher; Johann first worked in his father's shop and as a dairy salesman. In 1779, at the age of 16, he moved to London to join his brother George in working for an uncle's piano and flute manufactory, Astor & Broadwood. While there, he learned English and anglicized his name.

In 1783 or March 1784, Astor immigrated to New York City, just following the end of the American Revolution, He rented a room from Sarah Cox Todd, a widow, and began a flirtation with his landlady's daughter, also named Sarah Cox Todd, whom he would marry in 1785. His intent was to join his brother Henry, who had established a butcher shop there, but a chance meeting with a fur trader on his voyage inspired him to join the North American fur trade as well. After working at his brother's shop for a time, he began to purchase raw hides from Native Americans, prepare them himself, and then resell them in London and elsewhere at great profit. He opened his own fur goods shop in New York in the late 1780s and also served as the New York agent of his uncle's musical instrument business.