Meyer guggenheim net worth


Meyer Guggenheim

(1825-1905)

1993 Inductee from Mining's Past

Meyer Guggenheim, a consummate salesman, immigrated to the United States from Switzerland in 1848, and eventually built one of the world's greatest mining and smelting companies. His career began selling stove polish, then soap, lye, and coffee, railroad stock investments, and eventually imported lace and embroidery. His accumulated capital was then used to purchase two flooded mines in Colorado's Leadville District that turned out to be bonanzas. Guggenheim's next enterprise was the six-stack smelter of the Philadelphia Smelting & Refining Co. in Pueblo, Colorado, which was completed in 1889.

The passage of the McKinley Tariff by the United States Congress in 1890 was, in part, an attempt by competitors to stem the supply of rich Mexican silver from Guggenheim's smelter. The ultimate effect, however, encouraged Guggenheim to build smelters in Aguascalientes and Monterey, Mexico, from which he flooded the world's silver market. In 1899, when the major smelters and mining industrialists combined to form the

Meyer Guggenheim

Born 1827

Born in Switzerland

Died 1905

Died in Palm Beach, Florida

Shareholder in the A.  Y. Minnie Mine in Leadville, involved with the American Smelting and Refining Company, and the Arkansas Valley Smelter

Married to Barbara (Guggenheim) Myers

 

Guggenheims involved in Leadville and/or Colorado

 

Benjamin Guggenheim

Born 1865

Born in Pennsylvania

Died 1912

Died on the Titanic

Involved in the A. Y. and Minnie Mine, the American Smelting and Refining Company, and the Arkansas Valley Smelter

Married to Florette Guggenheim

Simon Guggenheim

Born 1867

Born in Philadelphia

Died 1941

Involved in the A. Y. and Minnie Mine, the American Smelting and Refining Company, and the Arkansas Valley Smelter

United States Senator for Colorado 1907 – 1913

Married to Olga (Guggenheim) Hirsch

 

William Guggenheim

Born 1868

Born in Pennsylvania

Died 1941

 

Other Guggenheims, not extensively involved in Leadville or Colorado

Isaac Guggenheim

(1854-1922)

Daniel Guggenheim

(1856-1930)

Murry Guggenheim

(1858-1939)

Solomon R

Meyer Guggenheim facts for kids

Meyer Guggenheim (February 1, 1828 – March 15, 1905) was the patriarch of what became known as the Guggenheim family.

Biography

He was born in Lengnau, Aargau, Switzerland, on February 1, 1828. He was of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry and emigrated to the United States in 1847. He started out in the importing business, but made his and his family's fortune (which was one of the largest fortunes of the 19th century) in mining and smelting.

Guggenheim invested in silver mines of the Leadville mining district of Colorado. From mining he expanded into ore smelting, also in Colorado, then built a number of smelters across the US and in northern Mexico. As his sons grew up, they took leading roles in the family mining and smelting business.

Personal life

Guggenheim and his wife Barbara had ten surviving children. Five of his seven sons were active in the family businesses:

  • Isaac Guggenheim (1854–1922)
  • Daniel Guggenheim (1856–1930), head of the family after his father's death, who was the most active of his sons in developing and acquiring worldwide

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