What I learned from rereading Tycoon's War: How Cornelius Vanderbilt Invaded a Country to Overthrow America's Most Famous Military Adventurer by Stephen Dando-Collins.
----
Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes
----
Follow Founders Podcast on YouTube
----
(0:01) Vanderbilt was only interested in two things: making money and winning
(3:00) Cornelius Vanderbilt, the descendant of poor Dutch immigrants, would die in 1877 possessing more money than was held by the United States treasury.
(3:00) The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T.J. Stiles
(5:00) The NEW Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger. (Founders #329)
(6:00) “If I had learned education. I would not have had time to learn anything else.”
(7:00) Vanderbilt wrote nothing down, keeping every detail of his business dealings in his head, and at any given time he knew his income and expenditures down to the last cent.
(10:00) From Founders Notes. I asked the chat feature:
Tell me about Cornelius Vanderbilt. How did he make his money?
One trait it identified in Vanderbilt was this:
Vanderbilt's approach to business was often marked by a sly concealment of his intentions, keeping information close while simultaneously gathering intelligence on competitors. This strategic obfuscation allowed him to make moves that others often couldn't predict or comprehend until it was too late
(This feature will be available to Founders Notes subscribers very soon!)
(15:00) The Invisible Billionaire: Daniel Ludwig by Jerry Shields (Founders #292)
(24:00) The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley by Jimmy Soni. (Founders #233)
(26:00) Gentlemen, you have undertaken to cheat me. I won’t sue you, for the law is too slow. I’ll ruin you. Yours truly, Cornelius Vanderbilt.
(37:00) He's turning everyone against Walker by appealing to their interests. He’s not saying do this for me to get my ships back. He appeals to their interests and aligns their interests with his own.
(40:00) Vanderbilt had more money than all the Central American governments combined.
(41:00) As far as my nature is concerned, I do not meet competition, I destroy competitors.
— The 38 Letters from J.D. Rockefeller to His Son by John D. Rockefeller. (Founders #324)
(41:00) Vanderbilt said why don’t you pay me to not compete with you?
----
Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes
----
“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth
Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast
#347 How Walt Disney Built His Greatest Creation: Disneyland
#346 How Walt Disney Built Himself
#345 George Lucas
Steven Spielberg
#344 Quentin Tarantino
#343 The Eternal Pursuit of Unhappiness: David Ogilvy
#342 The Lessons of History (Will & Ariel Durant)
#340 Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant
Jay Z's Autobiography
#339 Joseph Duveen: Robber Baron Art Dealer
#338 Monty Moncrief Texas Oil Billionaire
#337 Napoleon's Maxims and Strategy
#336 How To Lose A Few Billion Dollars: Samuel Insull
#335 How To Make A Few Billion Dollars: Brad Jacobs
#334 Oprah
#333 Red Bull's Billionaire Maniac Founder: Dietrich Mateschitz
#332 Jesus
#331 Christian Dior
#330 Les Schwab (Charlie Munger recommended this book)
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Commercial Edge: Unleash the Power of People
The emPOWERed Half Hour
Organic Marketing Simplified: Master podcast marketing, fuel podcast growth, and make money podcasting!
THE GO BIZ GUY
The Sigma Femme Podcast
The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway
Habits and Hustle