John Jacob Astor

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For other people named John Astor, see John Astor (disambiguation).

John Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor portrait by John Wesley Jarvis, circa 1825
Born	Johann Jakob Astor[n 1] July 17, 1763 Walldorf, Electoral Palatinate, Holy Roman Empire
Died	March 29, 1848 (aged 84) New York City, New York, U.S.
Resting place	Trinity Church Cemetery, New York City, New York, U.S.
Residence	New York City, New York, U.S.
Nationality	German (born) American (from 1789)[citation needed]
Occupation	merchant, businessman, investor, fur trader
Known for	First multi-millionaire businessman in the United States
Net worth	Estimated US $110.1 billion in 2006 dollars[2] US $20 million at the time of his death (approximately 1/107 of US GNP)[3]
Spouse(s)	Sarah Cox Todd (m. 1785; her death 1842)
Children	Magdalena Astor Bentzon Bristed Sarah Todd Astor John Jacob Astor Jr. William Backhouse Astor Sr. Dorothea Astor Langdon Henry Astor II Eliza Astor, Countess von Rumpf unnamed stillborn son
Parent(s)	Johann Jakob Astor Maria Magdalena Vorfelder
Relatives	See Astor family
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John Jacob Astor (July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848), born Johann Jakob Astor, was a German–American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul and investor who mainly made his fortune in fur trade and by investing in real estate in or around New York City.
Born in Germany, Astor emigrated to England as a teenager and worked as a musical instrument manufacturer. He moved to the United States after the American Revolutionary War. He entered the fur trade and built a monopoly, managing a business empire that extended to the Great Lakes region and Canada, and later expanded into the American West and Pacific coast. Seeing the decline of demand, he got out of the fur trade in 1830, diversifying by investing in New York City real estate and later becoming a famed patron of the arts.^[5]
He was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States.