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John Raskob | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chair of theDemocratic National Committee | |
| In office July 11, 1928 – July 2, 1932 | |
| Preceded by | Clem L. Shaver |
| Succeeded by | James Farley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Jakob Raskob (1879-03-19)March 19, 1879 Lockport, New York, U.S. |
| Died | October 15, 1950(1950-10-15) (aged 71) Centreville, Maryland, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Helena Springer Green |
| Children | 13 |
John Jakob Raskob,KCSG (March 19, 1879 – October 15, 1950) was a financial executive and businessman forDuPont andGeneral Motors, and the builder of theEmpire State Building.[1] He was chairman of theDemocratic National Committee from 1928 to 1932 and a key supporter ofAlfred E. Smith's candidacy forPresident of the United States.
AfterFranklin D. Roosevelt became president, Raskob became a prominent opponent of theNew Deal through his support of a number of anti-Roosevelt organizations such as theAmerican Liberty League. Raskob was also a leader in theAssociation Against the Prohibition Amendment and aTreasurer for theKnights of Malta.[2][3]
Raskob was born to John and Anna Frances (née Moran) Raskob, inLockport, New York, where his father ran a successful cigar-production business.[4] His parents were of German and Irish descent, respectively. The Raskob family originated in theEifel region in Germany. Raskob's grandfather was an emigrant from the village ofGroßlittgen in the Eifel. During his studies at both parochial and public schools, Raskob delivered newspapers, worked in seasonal agriculture, participated in local theater and was involved in the Catholic community.[clarification needed]
He entered a local business school after his high school graduation but dropped out to support his family through secretarial work following his father's death in 1898.[citation needed]
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Raskob was hired in 1901 byPierre S. du Pont as a personal secretary. In 1911, he became assistant treasurer ofDuPont, in 1914 treasurer, and in 1918 president for finance of both DuPont andGeneral Motors. Raskob had been an early investor in General Motors and had engineered DuPont's ownership of 43% of GM, purchased from the financially troubledWilliam C. Durant.
While with GM, he led the creation of GMAC (nowAlly Financial), the company that allowed GM dealers to offer installment credit directly to customers. He also promoted the use of standard financial statistics to measure the performance of different operations within a diversified company, primarily through his associateDonaldson Brown.
Raskob held the head financial job at both GM and DuPont until 1928, when he resigned from GM in a dispute with chairmanAlfred P. Sloan.
In the 1920s, Raskob was a big proponent of investing in stocks. He gave an interview toSamuel Crowther forLadies Home Journal in which he suggested every American could become wealthy by investing $15 per month in common stocks, at a time when the average American's weekly salary was between $17 and $22.[5] The article, titled "Everybody Ought to be Rich", was published just two months before theWall Street crash of 1929.
Raskob had supported Democratic presidential candidateAl Smith in the 1928 election, and Smith invited Raskob to become chairman of theDemocratic National Committee.[6] Sloan, a supporter ofHerbert Hoover, insisted Raskob resign either from GM or the DNC. Raskob left GM after the board supported Sloan, sold his GM stock, and used the proceeds to build theEmpire State Building.[citation needed]
Raskob made Smith president of the Empire State Co., operators of the building, based on a promise to do business together the night Smith lost the presidential election. Raskob served as chairman of the DNC through 1932. He continued to promote Smith's candidacy as Chairman of the DNC, and to advocate for the adoption of an anti-prohibition policy. Both of these positions were opposed by different factions within theDemocratic Party.[citation needed]
In 1932, whenFranklin D. Roosevelt (who was by then on rather bad terms with Al Smith) won the party's nomination and the election, Raskob (a Smith ally) resigned as DNC chairman. Raskob (like Al Smith) viewed many of Roosevelt'sNew Deal policies as radical and unhelpful to economic recovery.[citation needed]
Toward the end of Roosevelt's first term as president, Raskob began actively working against Roosevelt. Testimony given to theUnited States Senate Lobby Investigation Committee revealed Raskob was an active fundraiser forGeorgia governorEugene Talmadge, considered a possible anti-Roosevelt candidate for the Democratic nomination in the1936 United States presidential election.[7] Raskob later became involved with theAmerican Liberty League, an anti-New Deal organization active around the time of the 1936 election.[citation needed]
During the Great Depression, Raskob's business interests were focused on theEmpire State Building, which was in competition with theChrysler Building to become the world's tallest building at the time.[8] According to one story, Raskob had taken a jumbo pencil, stood it on end and asked architectWilliam F. Lamb, "Bill, how high can you make it so that it won't fall down?"[9]
During the early years of the Depression, the Empire State Building had so few tenants it was mocked as the "Empty State Building". Raskob was also invested in precious metal mining inNevada andNew Mexico, ranching, the aeronautical industry and pesticides. Raskob remained with DuPont until his retirement from the company in 1946.[citation needed]
Raskob's religious convictions motivated him to be substantially involved in charitable giving over the course of his life. He provided the initial funding for the Catholic Foundation for theDiocese of Wilmington,[10] and established several other foundations, including one which funds grants for projects and programs associated with theCatholic Church,[11] and another which provides no-interest educational loans.[12] In 1921, he was appointed aKnight of St. Gregory byPope Pius XI, recognizing him for his contributions.[13] He also served as aTreasurer in theKnights of Malta.[2][3]
The philanthropic Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities continues to be operated by Raskob's descendants and provides grants to Catholic institutions to this day.[14]
Raskob married Helena Springer Green in 1906, and they had 13 children.[4] One son, William, predeceased him in an automobile crash at the age of 20, and the Bill Raskob Foundation was started in memory of him. Raskob is known in theClaymont andWilmington areas for building the "Patio" at what is nowArchmere Academy between 1916 and 1918.[15] Originally his residence, it features a marble fountain which has each of his 13 children sculpted around the side.[citation needed]
Raskob's former home atPioneer Point on theEastern Shore of Maryland was bought by the Soviet government in 1972, and the 19-room mansion, once known as "Hartefeld Hall", was used as a retreat ordacha by Russian diplomats untilBarack Obama ordered it and another Russian property onLong Island seized by theUS State Department under authority of the Foreign Missions Act in response toRussian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.[16]
On May 31, 2017,The Washington Post reported that PresidentDonald Trump and his administration had decided to return Pioneer Point to the Russians,[17] however, as of May, 2018, it had still not been returned.[18]
That same year, John Jacob Raskob, Chief Executive of General Motors and head of the Democratic National Committee, published an article entitled "Everybody Ought to be Rich" in the Ladies Home Journal. Raskob suggested that every American could become wealthy by investing $15 per month in common stocks. He failed to realize, however, that the weekly salary of the average American worker was between $17 and $22, but that's not important: the optimism was there.
Mr. Raskob asks to be listed as the first donor to the Fund with an initial contribution of $500,000.
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Chair of theDemocratic National Committee 1928–1932 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
