Incorporation of American Fur Company

Date: April 6, 1808 • Location: Berlin, Germany

John Jacob Astor incorporates the American Fur Company, that would eventually make him America's first millionaire.

John Jacob Astor was a German-born American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor. Astor made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by exporting opium into the Chinese Empire, and by investing in real estate in or around New York City during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States.