#437 The Tycoons: Carnegie, Rockefeller, Gould & Morgan

Four late-1800s tycoons' competing strategies—Carnegie's cost obsession, Rockefeller's efficiency, Gould's financial warfare, Morgan's stabilization—built the infrastructure enabling all later American industry.

• Four archetypes, one superpower: Carnegie, Rockefeller, Gould and Morgan were all in their late 20s/early 30s near the Civil War's end; together they built the infrastructure (rail, oil, steel, finance) that enabled later industries like Procter & Gamble and department stores.
• Carnegie's formula: cut costs, take share, gain scale, reinvest constantly in the newest equipment, and use railroad-style cost accounting so rivals literally didn't know their own costs; he was also, per the author, a 'compulsive liar' who cheated partner Henry Clay Frick.

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