Clarence Dillon - Career

Career

Dillon met William A. Read, founder of the Wall Street bond broker William A. Read & Company, through an introduction by his Harvard classmate, William A. Phillips, in 1912. Dillon joined Read's Chicago office in that year and moved to its New York office in 1914. Following Read's death in 1916, Dillon bought a majority interest in the firm. In 1921, company's name was changed to Dillon, Read & Co.

A number of Dillon, Read partners served in senior roles in government, including Dillon and his right hand man, James Forrestal, who served as Secretary of the Navy, and later, Secretary of Defense.

During World War I, Bernard Baruch, Chairman of the War Industries Board, (known as the Czar of American Industry) asked Dillon to be Assistant Chairman of the War Industries Board.

Dillon was a Francophile both because his mother was of French origin and for his own personal tastes. In 1929, he purchased an apartment in Paris where he stayed a part of each year until he was well into his 80s.

An oenophile as well, Dillon negotiated for months with André Gibert, to purchase Château Haut-Brion and ultimately did so on May 13, 1935 for 2,300,000 francs. Dillon is said to have purchased Château Haut-Brion, merely because it was his favorite wine. But Haut-Brion is near Bordeaux, and good riding and hunting land surrounds the estate.

In 1957, Fortune Magazine listed Dillon as one of the richest men in the United States, with a fortune then estimated to be from $150 to $200 million.