John Jacob Astor
| John Jacob Astor | |
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John Jacob Astor portrait by John Wesley Jarvis, circa 1825
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| Born |
Johann Jakob Astor July 17, 1763 Walldorf, Electoral Palatinate, Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | March 29, 1848 (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 (born) American (from 1789) |
| Occupation | merchant, businessman, investor, fur trader |
| Known for | First multi-millionaire businessman in the United States |
| Net worth |
 Estimated US $110.1 billion in 2006 dollarsUS $20 million at the time of his death (approximately 1/107 of US GNP) |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah Cox Todd (m. 1785; her death 1842) |
| Children |
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| 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, Sara Cox Todd. 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.
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