Meet J. Pierpont Morgan: Character as Collateral

The Panic of 1907

No central bank existed, and the financial system was hours from cascade. Morgan locked the bankers in his library and refused to unlock the doors until they'd pledged rescue funds at 4 a.m. It worked because his word had been good for forty years — the Federal Reserve was founded partly so no lone man would have to do that again.

The first question

Testifying before Congress, he was asked whether credit rests on money or property. 'No, sir — the first thing is character. A man I do not trust could not get money from me on all the bonds in Christendom.' Due diligence has never been stated more briefly.

Why they belong at your table

Seat him to judge the deal by the person, ask for the real reason behind the good one — and remember what a trusted word compounds into.