Jay Gould: His Life and Legacy

Jay Gould was one of the most influential and controversial figures in American business history, a railroad tycoon, financier and speculator who built one of the greatest fortunes of the Gilded Age. But his financial ingenuity and creative rule-flouting also made him one of the most reviled figures in the country by the end of his life. In his new biography, American Rascal: How Jay Gould Built Wall Street’s Biggest Fortune, former Wall Street Journal bureau chief and author Greg Steinmetz breathes colorful life into Gould’s complicated character, giving both his brilliance and his demons their due, showing the profound influence Gould had on America’s approach to regulation.