biography
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1763–1848)
|
| biography:
| Fur trader, real estate investor, and millionaire, the founder of the Astor family, born in Waldorf, near Heidelberg, W Germany. He moved to England at age 16 and then to New York City (1784). He worked at various jobs but soon entered the fur trade and owned his own business by 1786. The leading merchant in the North American fur trade by 1800, he gained access to the China trade and invested heavily in New York City real estate. He combined all his fur holdings into the American Fur Co (1808). He planned the Astoria colony in Oregon (1811) but sold the property when it was threatened by the War of 1812. His Manhattan real estate continued to prosper, and he sold his fur interests in 1834. He administered his estate wisely, and at his death his assets totalled at least $20 million, making him the wealthiest man in America. Among his most far-reaching bequests was $350 000 to found a public library in New York City. The famous New York City hotel named after him, the Waldorf-Astoria, carries on the names of two hotels originally built by his grandsons. |
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