Cornelius Vanderbilt: The Commodore of Shipping and Railroads
Business Owner · Transportation & Mobility
Cornelius Vanderbilt quit school at 11, started his own ferry at 16 with $100 borrowed from his mother, and built shipping and railroad monopolies that made him one of the richest Americans in history.
About Cornelius Vanderbilt: The Commodore of Shipping and Railroads
Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 to January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working in his father's business he rose to leadership positions in inland and coastal shipping, then invested in the fast-growing railroad industry, which transformed the geography of the United States. One of the richest Americans in history, he was the patriarch of the wealthy and influential Vanderbilt family and provided the initial gift to found Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. For his monopoly on shipping and the railroads, facilitated in part by political manipulation, he is often described as either a "captain of industry" or a "robber baron". His great-great-great-grandfather, Jan Aertson, was a Dutch farmer from the village of De Bilt in Utrecht who immigrated to New Amsterdam as an indentured servant in 1650; "van der Bilt" means "of the Bilt". Vanderbilt was born in Staten Island, New York, to Cornelius van Derbilt and Phebe Hand, began working on his father's ferry in New York Harbor as a boy and quit school at 11. At 16 he decided to start his own ferry service, and by one account borrowed $100 from his mother to buy a periauger, a shallow-draft two-masted sailing vessel. Sources: English Wikipedia (Cornelius Vanderbilt, accessed September 2026).
Basic Information
Founder of the Vanderbilt shipping and railroad empire (1794-1877)
Company Details
Vanderbilt shipping and railroads (New York Central)
Shipping, Railroads
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