Long Before There Was Elon, There Was THIS Man

This billionaire businessman was a pop culture icon and presidential chum who had an open invitation to the White House. Though he was never elected to any office, he headed commissions, set federal policy, directed various operations and played a critical -- even decisive -- role. Yet, while befriending and hosting the most influential people he also remained a distinct and somewhat quirky personality in his own right.

Sound familiar?

No, we're not talking about Elon Musk. We're talking about someone who came decades before Musk. We're talking about Barnard Baruch!

Bernard Mannes Baruch came to be referred to as an "elder statesman" because he was chummy with US presidents who frequently called upon him for his guidance. For decades, Bernard Baruch was also one of the country's richest and most powerful men. 

Baruch amassed a fortune on the New York Stock Exchange and was a devoted member of the Democrat Party who contributed generously to it. When Woodrow Wilson became president, Baruch became a White House insider and regular guest of the president. He was highly influential in the Wilson administration,  impressing the progersssive Wilson by managing the nation's economic mobilization in World War I as chairman of the War Industries Board. He also advised Wilson during the Paris Peace Conference. He made another fortune in the postwar bull market, but wisely foresaw the Wall Street crash and sold out well in advance.

In World War II, Baruch then became a close advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the role of industry in war supply and he was credited with greatly shortening the production time for tanks and aircraft. Later he helped to develop rehabilitation programs for injured servicemen. In 1946 he was the United States representative to the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission, though his Baruch Plan for international control of atomic energy was rejected by the Soviet Union.

Like many bright and successful people, Baruch had his eccentricities and for all his high-level connections, in many ways he remained a maverick. His refusal to join any major Wall Street brokerage firm (though he could have been a partner at any of them) gave him the reputation as the “lone wolf of Wall Street.” And Baruch always claimed he received his greatest insight sitting on park benches in Washington and New York chatting with ordinary people. A famous Bernard Baruch quote goes like this: “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” 

More fascinating background on Baruch: 

• Baruch played on an international stage. Winston Churchill sought out Baruch for investment advice and the financier happily obliged, even hosting Churchill at luxury hotels and providing an office for him when Churchill visited New York. They were lifelong chums.

• Baruch amassed a personal fortune of about a $230 million which would make him a multi billionaire in today’s dollars. At the age of 33 Baruch (a true wunderkind) was already worth $3 million, or about $81 million in today's dollars.

• Baruch was an ardent proponent of independent thinking and frequently spoke out against the conventional wisdom of the day. He counseled avoiding a herd mentality and thinking long range, beyond the moment.

• Baruch founded the Intercontinental Rubber Company of New York, which dominated the guayule rubber market in the U.S. with holdings in Mexico and elsewhere. His partners in the enterprise were big time operators including Senator  Nelson Aldrich, Daniel Guggenheim, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and George Foster peabody. 

• Baruch purchased approximately 16,000 acres of the former 18th century Hobcaw Barony, consolidating 14 plantations in South Carolina between the Winyah Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. He developed sections of the property as a winter hunting resort.

• Baruch was celebrated in the popular culture. He was portrayed in the movies Wilson and Funny Lady as well as in the drama Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years. He was also mentioned in episodes of the Donna Reed Show, the Dick Van Dyke Show, Leave It To Beaver, the Patty Duke Show and Make Room For Daddy. Humorist Art Buchwald referenced Baruch in his book A Gift From The Boys.

• Baruch was a frequent visitor to the White House during the administrations of Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman and even later during the administrations of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson.  Baruch died in 1965. 

Note: Baruch was heralded in his day and amply praised by the media and the titans of that era. No one dared question the motives or the reputation of presidential best bud Bernard Baruch. My, how times have changed!