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Best remembered as a prominent business magnate and philanthropist, Vanderbilt's impact on American history is vast and ever-present. "Commodore Vanderbilt" was born on May 27, 1794 to a poor family in New York. Upon quitting school at the age of 11, Vanderbilt took up a job on his father's ferry. From a young age, Vanderbilt's innate grasp of business was present; by the age of 40, Vanderbilt owned a formidably-sized steamboat company. However, the majority of Vanderbilt's wealth came from the rapidly growing railroad industry that emerged after the Civil War. By today's standards, Vanderbilt would be worth approximately $215 billion.

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The unprecedented westward expansion that took place following the conclusion of the American Civil War presented a new challenge for settlers: transportation. Many investors sought to capitalize upon this new need and create massive railroad companies. The railroad industry was a highly competitive market for businessmen such as Vanderbilt.

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As a major industry in post- Civil War America, the railroad industry was extremely competitive. As such, many firms would attempt to enter and subsequently go bankrupt. Vanderbilt made much of his fortune by profiting off the loss of others; he would buy out smaller railroad companies that were not doing nearly as well as his. In addition, he made exclusive trade agreements with other wealthy businessmen such as John D. Rockefeller.

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Vanderbilt's most notable contribution went to a small school in the south- a part of the country that Vanderbilt himself had never been to. Providing the school with an endowment of roughly $1 million (roughly $20 million today), Vanderbilt provided the school with a very strong foundation. Although he never had any intention for the school to be named after him, the administration of the school soon decided to commemorate Vanderbilt in this respect (the mascot also bears Vanderbilt's nickname, "Commodore").

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- http://www.history.com/topics/cornelius-vanderbilt
- https://www.biography.com/.image/t_share/MTE4MDAzNDEwNzExOTA1ODA2/
cornelius-vanderbilt-9515195-1-402.jpg
-https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.timetoast.com/public/uploads/photos/
3618789/Vanderbilt_Railroad_Image.jpg?1362421191
- https://www.vanderbilt.edu/about/history/
- https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/files/new-home/resize/public_files/images/med%20school%20ent1-650x406.jpg