#425 The Merchant Bankers

In every merchant banking dynasty, there is one pioneer who began with nothing and died rich. The Rothschilds started out as coin changers in the ghetto. The bearings and textiles, the Hambros and foodstuffs, the Warburgs and silver, and the Weschburgs began in grains. Grandfather arrived in town in style sitting on top of a hay cart loaded high with corn. So the author's, grandfather was a merchant maker. He said people in town used to call him Albert the Benevolent because he would lend them money at 5%. I had no idea what that meant. Later, I heard that when Albert the Benevolent liked the man, he would lend him money without any collateral, taking a chance on the man's promise to pay him back. Later, Grandfather switched from corn to credit in the manner of all merchant bankers and opened a coin changing office. Grandfather then extended the firm into the banking house, A. Westberg and Company. The company in the name of the firm were exactly as in the case of most merchant bankers, grandfather's sons who became his partners. One of them was my father. The bank was doing very well. When grandfather died with his perfect sense of timing in 1913, one year before the outbreak of the First World War, he was 86, and he was the richest man in town and very much loved. He owned land, mills, factories, houses, distilleries, stocks, and bonds. Occasionally, a merchant banker puts his money on the wrong debtor as you will read in this book. I was six, and I thought it would be nice to have such a funeral. He was not ashamed of his humble beginnings. When I asked him how he'd become a millionaire, he tapped his right temple, pointed his forefinger at me, and said, I used my head. Don't you ever forget that, my child. I didn't. That is an excerpt from the book that I'm gonna talk to you about today, which is The Merchant Bankers. It's written by Joseph Weschberg. It's actually published in 1966. This is the second or third time I read the book. Never made an episode on it before, and I've just been fascinated by merchant bankers. And I'll explain why as we go through the book, why I actually think there's a couple of the most interesting entrepreneurs that I've met today that I would classify as almost like a one man merchant bank. But, what I wanted to do, this time is I bought a bunch of copies of this book. I've given away to friends. And I was like, you know what? If I read this book multiple times, I've given away this, the the paperback version of this as as gifts, I should do an episode on it. And the reason I didn't do an episode on it is because essentially the book is, I don't know, seven or eight different chapters. Each chapter focuses on one of the great, you …