During the period of the Industrial Revolution known as the Gilded Age (an era lasting roughly from the early 1860s to the turn of the century), shrewd businessmen from humble backgrounds became multimillionaires by seizing opportunities in the country's new industries. Their fortunes quickly became legendary, inspiring many young men to leave their family farms and head for the city with hopes of becoming rich. In this era the very act of making money was idealized in the arts and media, and even in church sermons. The "rags-to-riches" story, in which an impoverished young man rises to wealth and prominence through his own hard work and determination, spread throughout the popular culture.

The inspiration for rags-to-riches dreams of this period came from a relatively small number of American businessmen who created gigantic industries unlike anything known before. They became enormously wealthy and held great...