16 Facts About James Speyer

James Joseph Speyer was an American banker based in the city of New York.

James Speyer was actively involved with many social, educational and cultural organizations in New York City.

The House of James Speyer was the third largest investment banking firm at its peak in 1913, when it managed $2.443 billion, the 2023 equivalent of $55 billion.

James Speyer was born to a Jewish family from Germany, the son of Gustav James Speyer.

James Speyer was educated in Frankfurt, Germany, and entered the Frankfurt branch of the Speyer family's banking house, Lazard Speyer-Ellissen, in 1883.

James Speyer became the head of the family firm in 1899 and was an officer in many other banks and trust companies.

James Speyer was one of the founders of the Provident Loan Society and a trustee of the Teachers College at Columbia University, to which he in 1902 presented the James Speyer School.

James Speyer was a trustee of the Museum of the City of New York.

James Speyer was actively connected with the defeat of the Tammany Hall organization in 1894.

James Speyer was pro-German, and the London office had to close.

James Speyer's one-man-show management style was a factor in the decline as well as his varied interests, which limited the time he gave to his banking concern.

At the turn of the 20th century, James Speyer was deeply invested in railroads.

James Speyer was financial agent for the railroad activities of Collis P Huntington, helping him acquire bonds to buy out Charles Crocker and Leland Stanford's interests in the Central Pacific Railroad.

James Speyer helped to found the Economic Club of New York in 1907 and the American Museum of Safety in 1911.

James Speyer was one of the founders of the University Settlement Society of New York, the first settlement house in the United States.

James Speyer was an active opponent of prohibition, and was an officer in the Association Against Prohibition.