A Napoleon of “high finance”
Subject(s): Boating industry, Capitalists and financiers, Corruption, Governmental investigations, Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821, Prestige, Schwab, Charles M., 1862-1939, Shipbuilding industry, Steel industry and trade, Trusts, Industrial, United States
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Charles M. Schwab, as Napoleon, sits on a rock in the middle of the ocean, looking back at the setting sun labeled “Business Reputation.” He is holding in his right hand papers labeled “Investigation Ship Building Scandal,” and other papers labeled “Steel Trust” are in his coat pocket.
Comments and Context
The depiction of Charles M. Schwab as an exiled Napoleon represents a troubled period in the career of an otherwise colorful success story of an American business icon. The steel executive who had worked for Andrew Carnegie and J. P. Morgan became a steel-industry entrepreneur with the acquisition of Bethlehem Steel.
During a period when he left United States Steel and bought Bethlehem Steel, then sold it back to J. P. Morgan, then re-purchased it, then sold it again to the U.S. Shipbuilding Company, he stumbled as the latter company went into receivership. There were allegations that Schwab unethically manipulated transactions, but the threat of a scandal ultimately was lifted as Schwab was exonerated.
Otherwise his life’s trajectory was a roller-coaster ride. He rose in Carnegie’s steel works to prominent leadership while yet in his 30s, and his visions persuaded J. P. Morgan to hire him, if he could purchase Carnegie’s steel business, which Morgan did. Schwab’s subsequent purchase of Bethlehem Steel eventually made that company the world’s second-largest steel concern, and himself (assisted by technological innovations at which he was talented) fabulously wealthy. He profited, by technically legal means, from wartime production for the Allies during World War I, often working through Canadian entities.
Schwab’s flaws included a famous roving eye (he fathered an illegitimate daughter) and a gambling addiction. Mansions of unprecedented opulence, especially in Manhattan, contributed to the eventual dissipation of his fortune. At his death in 1939 he died, not in exile as depicted in Keppler’s cartoon, but in relative penury. He was buried next to his wife who had remained married despite her knowledge of his affairs. Schwab was not related to the Charles Schwab of the contemporary brokerage business, as is sometimes thought.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1904-03-09
Creator(s)
Period
U.S. President – 1st Term (September 1901-February 1905)
Repository
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Page Count
1
Record Type
Image
Resource Type
Rights
These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.
Citation
Cite this Record
Chicago:
A Napoleon of “high finance”. [March 9, 1904]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277749. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956. A Napoleon of “high finance”. [9 Mar. 1904]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 26, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277749.
APA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956., [1904, March 9]. A Napoleon of “high finance”.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277749.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 26, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
APA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
