Charles Edwin Mitchell (October 6, 1877 – December 14, 1955) was an American banker whose incautious

securities A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...

policies facilitated the

speculation In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable shortly. (It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline in value.) Many ...

which led to the Crash of 1929. First National City Bank's (now

Citibank Citibank, N. A. (N. A. stands for " National Association") is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City Ba ...

) abuses under his leadership brought an end to ownership of investment affiliates by commercial banks.

Early life and education

Mitchell was born in

Chelsea, Massachusetts Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, directly across the Mystic River from the city of Boston. As of the 2020 census, Chelsea had a population of 40,787. With a total area of just 2.46 square miles, Chelsea is the sm ...

, where his father, George Edwin Mitchell, worked for a produce dealer and served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

from 1887 until 1888. Mitchell graduated from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

in 1899, after which he got a job with the

Western Electric Company The Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company officially founded in 1869. A wholly owned subsidiary of American Telephone & Telegraph for most of its lifespan, it served as the primary equipment ma ...

in Chicago.

Career

In 1903, he became assistant to its president. After three years, he left the firm and moved to New York City, where he became assistant to the president of The Trust Company of America. Between 1911 and 1916, he ran his own investment house, C. E. Mitchell & Company. In 1916, he became vice-president of National City Company, which he reorganized into a private investment banking firm. Shortly after, he relocated to

Tuxedo Park, New York Tuxedo Park is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. Its population was 623 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area as well as the larger New York metropolitan area. Its name is d ...

. Nicknamed "Sunshine Charley", Mitchell was elected president of National City Bank (now

) in 1921 and, in 1929, was appointed chairman. Also in 1921, he was elected president of National City Company, which became the largest security-issuing entity in the world. Under his leadership, the bank expanded rapidly and, by 1930, had 100 branches in 23 countries outside the United States. His salesmen sold millions of shares in the bank totaling $650 million, much of which would be lost in the Crash of 1929. Indeed, while the

Federal Reserve Bank A Federal Reserve Bank is a regional bank of the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States. There are twelve in total, one for each of the twelve Federal Reserve Districts that were created by the Federal Reserve A ...

was attempting to curb speculation earlier in 1929, Mitchell flaunted a $25 million advance to traders.

Arrest and acquittal

Mitchell remained chairman until 1933, when he was arrested and indicted for tax evasion by then Assistant U.S. Attorney

Thomas E. Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: althou ...

. Charges were brought following testimony by Mitchell in which he openly stated that he had sold his stake in National City Bank to avoid paying taxes. Defended by attorney

Max Steuer Max David Steuer (16 September 1870 – 21 August 1940) was a prominent American trial lawyer in the first half of the 20th century. Personal life Steuer was born on September 16, 1870 (or 1871), in the town of Homonna, Austria-Hungary (now ...

, he was found not guilty of all criminal charges, but the government won a million-dollar civil settlement against him. In 1933, the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

Pecora Commission The Pecora Investigation was an inquiry begun on March 4, 1932, by the United States Senate Committee on Banking and Currency to investigate the causes of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The name refers to the fourth and final chief counsel for t ...

investigated Mitchell as its first witness for his part in tens of millions of dollars in losses, excessive pay, and tax avoidance. In November 1929, U.S. Senator

Carter Glass Carter Glass (January 4, 1858 – May 28, 1946) was an American newspaper publisher and Democratic politician from Lynchburg, Virginia. He represented Virginia in both houses of Congress and served as the United States Secretary of the Treasu ...

said, "Mitchell more than any 50 men is responsible for this stock crash.""Damnation of Mitchell"
''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

''. March 6, 1933. His townhouse on

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...

, built for him by

Walker & Gillette Walker & Gillette was an architectural firm based in New York City, the partnership of Alexander Stewart Walker (1876–1952) and Leon Narcisse Gillette (1878–1945), active from 1906 through 1945. Biographies Walker was a native of Jersey C ...

in 1926, with a rusticated facade in the manner of a 16th-century Roman palazzo, now houses the French consulate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Charles E. 1877 births 1955 deaths American bankers Businesspeople from New York City Citigroup people People from Chelsea, Massachusetts American financiers People from the Upper East Side Amherst College alumni