James Stillman

James Stillman
President of National City Bank
In office
1891–1909
Preceded byPercy Rivington Pyne I
Succeeded byFrank Arthur Vanderlip, Sr.
Chairman of National City Bank
In office
1909–1918
Succeeded byFrank Arthur Vanderlip, Sr.
Personal details
Born
James Jewett Stillman

(1850-06-09)June 9, 1850
Brownsville, Texas, U.S.
DiedMarch 15, 1918(1918-03-15) (aged 67)
New York City, U.S.
SpouseSarah Elizabeth Rumrill
ChildrenSarah Elizabeth Stillman
James Alexander Stillman
Isabel Goodrich Stillman
Charles Chauncey Stillman
Ernest Goodrich Stillman
Parent(s)Charles Stillman
Elizabeth Pamela Goodrich
OccupationBanker

James Jewett Stillman (June 9, 1850 – March 15, 1918) was an American businessman who invested in land, banking, and railroads in New York, Texas, and Mexico. He was chairman of the board of directors of the National City Bank.[1] He forged alliances with the Rockefeller family, Standard Oil and Kuhn, Loeb & Co. to lay a foundation that made it, arguably, "the greatest bank in the Western Hemisphere."[2] He engaged in an expansion policy that made National City the largest bank in the United States by 1894, the first to open foreign branches, and a leader in foreign exchange.[3] By 1902, the bank was able to pay any sum of money to any city in the world within 24 hours.[4] He was worth approximately $77 million at the time of his death, making him one of the wealthiest people in the country at the time.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference obitnyt was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Bovykin, V.I. and Cameron, Rondo International Banking 1870–1914 pp. 67-69 (1994).
  3. ^ Pal, Susie J. Gentlemen Bankers p. 233 (2013).
  4. ^ Bovykin, V.I. and Cameron, Rondo International Banking 1870–1914 pp. 67 (1994).