John Jacob Astor IV was the founder of the St. Regis Hotel and the richest man in the world at the time. He was also one of the four most famous celebrities who died on the Titanic. He and His wife, who was pregnant at the time, was on board the ship that was said to be "unsinkable." After the tragedy, his wife boarded the lifeboat with other women and children, while he chose to stay on the deck.
After the ship sank, his body was found while salvaging the sunken ship. At this time, he could only be identified by the initials on his coat and the watch in his pocket.
As the richest man at the time, the money in Astor’s account was said to be enough to buy three Titanic ships. He himself was also one of the investors in the Titanic, but he did not enjoy any privileges. Instead, it sank together with the ship. Why?
The legendary family---the Astor family
The founder of the Astor family, John Jacob Astor, was born into a butcher family. In 1784, he came from England He immigrated to the United States to look for opportunities. In 1785, he and his wife used the $300 dowry brought by the latter to start investing in the fur business. Because of his excellent business acumen and bold decisions, he made a lot of money. In 1800, Astor founded the American Fur Company. , earning a full $250,000.
At the same time, he purchased a large amount of useless real estate in New York. With a keen business sense, he felt that although he did not know what to do with these farmlands yet, sooner or later New York would become a big city with booming business. City, investing in property now is the right time.
It turns out that this bold businessman was extremely wise. When he purchased the property, New York was just a rural town, but this small town was growing at a rate of doubling its population every ten years. constantly moving closer to the level of European cities.
By the time Astor died in 1848, he was already a tycoon with $25 million in real estate and was known as the "Landlord of New York." The biggest regret of this landowner during his lifetime was that he did not buy the entire property. Manhattan.
The first patriarch of the family created two firsts in American history: the first American millionaire and the first person to create a family trust.
Old Astor not only created a glorious family, but also planned a clear future for future generations. Little Astor, the second generation of the family, inherited his father's legacy and did not The real estate was sold but kept. This important move allowed the family to accumulate wealth.
Not only did he clearly and specifically plan the next generation's wealth in his will, he also created a unique trust management method, with six administrators jointly supervising the inheritance left to his son.
The Astor family reached its peak in the era of Astor IV.
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Astor IV was born in 1864, when the family's business was booming. This child who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth received a good education from an early age. Different from the old Astor, Astor IV was proficient in many subjects such as literature, art, and architecture. He had a wide range of interests and was willing to explore.
He is a graduate of Harvard University and wrote the science fiction novel "Journey to Another Star", which is still popular among readers. He is also an excellent inventor and has obtained many patents including bicycle brakes, turbine engines, etc.
Perhaps due to the influence of his family environment, he has an excellent business vision that is not inferior to that of his great-grandfather. The most commendable thing is that he does not indulge in enjoying the benefits brought to him by a wealthy family. He thinks more What is important is how to continue to carry forward the family business.
In 1897, Astor founded the St. Regis Hotel, the most luxurious hotel in the world at the time. The hotel is not only extremely luxurious and elegant in its overall appearance and interior, but also creates a management and business model that is unprecedented in American hotels.
For example, he introduced the concept of "butlers". Butlers will provide guests with a variety of services, ranging from booking theater tickets to planning travel itinerary details. They will provide guests with the best information one by one. Excellent and considerate service.
In addition, the St. Regis Hotel combines tradition and modernity. It can not only provide the saber opening ceremony of champagne popular in the Napoleonic period, but also provide a popular cocktail called "Bloody Mary" at that time. Now Of course, people in China are certainly familiar with this kind of drink, but at that time the recipes for this kind of drink were mixed and disorderly. In the end, the recipe of the St. Regis Hotel was used as the basis for the final way of preparing this cocktail.
Most of the people who come to stay at the St. Regis Hotel are curious about their novel model, but what leaves them in the end is the core of the hotel: customer-oriented and providing the most considerate services.
Astor created a variety of room types to cater for various upper-class people to come for vacation or business, which was still a very novel approach at the time. To this day, the St. Regis Hotel is still the representative of top luxury hotels.
When he was shipwrecked at sea, he only left the words "I love you" to his wife
In 1909, Astor IV divorced his first wife, causing an uproar in society. .
In 1911, he married Madeleine Firth, a girl 29 years younger than him. The newlywed was only 18 years old, only one year older than Astor's eldest son. This matter was discussed endlessly by the upper class at the time, and he could only temporarily leave the United States with his new wife in the name of traveling in various European countries. In 1912, Madeleine found out that she was pregnant. She thought that she would return to the United States to give birth anyway, so the two prepared to return to the United States on the newly completed Titanic.
Unfortunately, on April 12, 1912, the Titanic collided with an iceberg. At first, the passengers were relatively calm. They were hesitant to listen to the crew's instructions and get on the seemingly unreliable ship. The lifeboat leaves the ship. Most people believed that the Titanic was unsinkable, and they hoped that the ship could be repaired and take them home.
As time went by, the situation became serious. After careful calculation by designer Thomas Andrew, this huge ship will sink to the bottom of the sea within 1.5-2 hours. By the early morning of the 13th, the crew was ready to release the lifeboat, but there were 2,224 people on the ship, and the lifeboat was only large enough for 1,178 people.
Astor was not particularly panicked. He even comforted his wife at the beginning of the shipwreck. When the lifeboats began to be released in the middle of the night, he put his wife and servants on lifeboat No. 4 and asked if he could board the boat to accompany his weak wife. However, he was told that all women and children must be boarded before the men could board. After receiving the ship's reply, he calmly accepted it.
He said goodbye to his wife and only said "I love you" to her. He was last seen smoking a cigarette on the starboard side. Half an hour later, the Titanic sank completely to the bottom of the sea, and Astor IV and more than 1,500 passengers who failed to board the lifeboat became its burial objects.
Among these people, there are rich people, poor people, captains, crew members, businessmen, and workers. When death comes, everyone is no different.
At this moment that tests humanity, although the captain ordered women and children to go first, it can be seen from the subsequent rescue report that half of the people rescued at that time were men, and the children in the third class cabin Only half were rescued.
Some people die nobly, and some people live despicably. At the last moment, Astor did not use his status as the world's richest man to get a seat on the ship. This is a glorious moment that human nature cannot bear to look at. Not everyone can do it without hesitation.
Others, such as those crew members who fought until the last moment, many of whom were drowned in the boiler room that suddenly exploded in order to save more people; and Thomas, the designer of the Titanic. Andrew, another rich man Guggenheim, Strauss, the founder of Macy's Department Store--although he was over 60 years old and should have been able to ride on the lifeboat, he refused---and his wife... these People choose to face death in another gentlemanly way, at least they can die with dignity.
Mayice, the chairman of the White Star Line, chose to abandon his ship and his crew, and secretly jumped into the lifeboat regardless of the instructions. Although he finally returned to his hometown as a survivor, the truth was forever unknown. record, he could not escape the accusation of this despicable behavior throughout his life.
Summary:
The poet Yeats once wrote: I will not take back in the dark hour the gift given in the vast time.
The gift you gave I will give again, for you may come to winter, but your beautiful white flowers will live forever.
Noble qualities are not particularly dazzling in a peaceful life, but when danger comes, a noble soul will never be abandoned. And their great spirit will also light a lamp and illuminate the right path for people who encounter the same problem.
To only care about oneself is the simplest thing in the world, but coveting temporary benefits--even life--cannot last a person's life. Those who find various excuses to board the rescue ship Although they have survived a temporary crisis, they cannot escape the regrets of a lifetime. They will always live in the eyes of people's condemnation, unable to hold their heads up.
If life is valuable only once, then having a noble character by your side can make this life more regret-free. We should all find ways to live our lives without regrets.