Gulf Oil

“Only 2.5% of Americans owned stocks in 1929, and his own wealth remained largely insulated, tied up in mostly private enterprises like Gulf Oil and Alcoa, rather than publicly traded securities.”

“His companies regularly paid dividends of 20, 30, even 100% annually. Gulf Oil once declared a staggering 500% dividend, so large that it attracted the attention of the regulators.”

“Mellon's personal fortune exploded from fifty-five million in 1913 to eighty million by 1921, but these were merely book values. They really understated how much he was worth. His Gulf oil holdings alone were valued at 17.4 million on paper, but they were wort…”