George Fisher Baker

George Fisher Baker (March 27, 1840 – May 2, 1931) was a U.S. financier and philanthropist. In 1924 he provided much of the initial funding for Harvard Business School with a grant for $5 million. In reciprocation of this generous donation Harvard made him an honorary Doctor of Laws and named the library after Baker. In addition, he also made several large donations to charitable causes throughout New York City and funded the construction of Baker Field, Columbia University's primary athletic facility. He also provided $2 million for Baker Memorial Library at Dartmouth College, which has since become one of the school's symbols. He was a co-founder—along with his mentor, John Thompson, and Thompson's sons Frederick Ferris Thompson and Samuel C. Thompson—of the First National Bank of the City of New York in 1863. The institution was the first national bank to be chartered in New York City under the National Currency Act of 1863, and is a forerunner of today's Citibank N.A. He became First National's President on September 1, 1877 (aged just 37) and Chairman of the Board in 1909. Mr. Baker's 20,000 shares in the First National Bank were worth twenty million dollars (~$501 million in 2011). He was also the largest stockholder in the Central Railroad of New Jersey. He was a director in 22 corporations, which, together with their subsidiaries, had aggregate resources of $7,272,000,000 and he presumably had stock in at least as many corporations. To add on, he made $25,000,000 in 2 days in a stock exchange event and $42,000,000 in the same week which makes him the fastest money maker so far in the world.