Eugene Isaac Meyer (October 31, 1875 – July 17, 1959) was an American financier and newspaper publisher. Through his public career, he served as the 5th
chairman of the Federal Reserve
The chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the head of the Federal Reserve, and is the active executive officer of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The chair shal ...
from 1930 to 1933 and was the first
president of the World Bank Group
The president of the World Bank Group is the head of World Bank Group. The president is responsible for chairing the meetings of the boards of directors and for overall management of the World Bank Group. Traditionally, the World Bank Group presid ...
from June to December 1946. Meyer published ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' from 1933 to 1946, and the paper stayed in his family throughout the rest of the 20th century.
Life and career
Born in Los Angeles, California, Meyer was descended from a long line of rabbis and civic leaders. He was one of eight children of Harriet (née Newmark) and
Marc Eugene Meyer
Marc Eugene Meyer (1842–1925) was an American businessman and was president of Lazard Frères in the United States.
Biography
Meyer was born to a Jewish family, the son of Sephora (née Loeb) and Isaac Meyer, in Strasbourg, France. His father w ...
. His mother was the daughter of
Joseph Newmark. He grew up in San Francisco and attended college across the bay at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
, but he dropped out after one year and later enrolled at
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1895.
After college, Meyer went to work for
Lazard Frères
Lazard Ltd (formerly known as Lazard Frères & Co.) is a financial advisory and asset management firm that engages in investment banking, asset management and other financial services, primarily with institutional clients. It is the world's ...
, where his father was a partner, but quit in 1901 after four years and went out on his own. He was a successful investor and speculator, and owned a seat on the
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
. He married
Agnes Elizabeth Ernst, a Lutheran, in 1910; they had five children, including the future
Katharine Graham
Katharine Meyer Graham (June 16, 1917 – July 17, 2001) was an American newspaper publisher. She led her family's newspaper, ''The Washington Post'', from 1963 to 1991. Graham presided over the paper as it reported on the Watergate scandal, whi ...
, and another daughter,
Florence Meyer (Mrs.
Oskar Homolka
Oskar Homolka (August 12, 1898 – January 27, 1978) was an Austrian film and theatre actor, who went on to work in Germany, Britain and America. Both his voice and his appearance fitted him for roles as communist spies or Soviet officials, for w ...
). By 1915, when he was forty, he was worth $40 million.
In 1920, Meyer teamed with
William H. Nichols
William Henry Nichols (1852–1930) was an American chemist and businessman. He was instrumental in building the chemical supply business in the U.S. The specialty materials business of Honeywell traces its roots back a small sulfuric acid comp ...
of General Chemical to help fulfill his vision of a bigger, better chemical company. Meyer and Nichols combined five smaller chemical companies to create the Allied Chemical & Dye Corporation, which later became Allied Chemical Corp., which in turn became part of
AlliedSignal, the forerunner of
Honeywell
Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...
’s specialty materials business. Both men have buildings named after them at Honeywell’s
Morris Plains, New Jersey
Morris Plains is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 5,532,[Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...]
, becoming the head of the
War Finance Corporation
The War Finance Corporation was a government corporation in the United States created to give financial support to industries essential for World War I, and to banking institutions that aided such industries. It continued to give support to various ...
and serving there long after the end of hostilities.
President
Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...
named him as chairman of the
Federal Farm Loan Board
The Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916 () was a United States federal law aimed at increasing credit to rural family farmers. It did so by creating a federal farm loan board, twelve regional farm loan banks and tens of farm loan associations. The act ...
in 1927.
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...
promoted him to
Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, commonly known as the Federal Reserve Board, is the main governing body of the Federal Reserve System. It is charged with overseeing the Federal Reserve Banks and with helping implement the mon ...
in 1930. He took on an additional half-year post in 1932 as chief of the new
Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which was Hoover's unsuccessful attempt to aid companies by providing loans to businesses. After
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
became president, Meyer resigned his Fed position on May 10, 1933.
Meyer has been criticized as Fed Chairman for not attacking the economic catastrophe of the early 1930s with monetary stimulus, thus allowing the banking crisis to get out of hand and deepening the economic collapse. One of his biggest critics at the time condemned Meyer along with
J. P. Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known ...
,
Andrew Mellon
Andrew William Mellon (; March 24, 1855 – August 26, 1937), sometimes A. W. Mellon, was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector, and politician. From the wealthy Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylva ...
and
Ogden Mills
as being the
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are figures in the Christian scriptures, first appearing in the Book of Revelation, a piece of apocalypse literature written by John of Patmos.
Revelation 6 tells of a book or scroll in God's right hand t ...
.
More recent critics include
Nobel laureate Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman (; July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and the ...
and his fellow economist
Anna Schwartz
Anna Jacobson Schwartz (pronounced ; November 11, 1915 – June 21, 2012) was an American economist who worked at the National Bureau of Economic Research in New York City and a writer for ''The New York Times''. Paul Krugman has said that Schwar ...
who, in their landmark book ''
A Monetary History of the United States
''A Monetary History of the United States, 1867–1960'' is a book written in 1963 by Nobel Prize–winning economist Milton Friedman and Anna J. Schwartz. It uses historical time series and economic analysis to argue the then-novel proposition th ...
,'' put forth the argument that the Fed could have lessened the severity of the Depression, but failed to exercise its role of managing the monetary system and ameliorating banking panics.
Purchase of the ''Washington Post''
In 1929, Meyer made an offer of $5 million for ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', but he was rebuffed. In June 1933, he bought the paper at a bankruptcy auction for $825,000, the paper having been ruined by its spendthrift socialite owner
Ned McLean, and by the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. Meyer had resigned as
Fed chairman just three weeks earlier, and he had no experience in the publishing business. But he was prepared to bid up to $2 million for the ''Post,'' far more than the other bidders, including
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...
. Preferring to remain anonymous, Meyer stayed
home
A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...
from the proceedings. After weeks of speculation when even his daughter
Katharine
Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria.
In the early Christ ...
didn't know the buyer's name, it was finally revealed in newspapers around the country on June 13.
In his statement to the press, Meyer vowed to improve the ''Post,'' and asserted that he would operate it independently. He also said that he had bought the ''Post'' on his own, without the influence of "any person, group or organization." He made this statement to contradict the rumors that as a well-known Republican, he would soon turn it into a voice for Republican causes. Press reaction to the purchase was positive, with other newspapers being pleased that the ''Post'' would not go out of business, and would continue to report the news from the nation's capital; given its important location, said one editorial, rescuing the ''Post'' was "a public service."
An editorial in a newspaper that was identifiably Republican praised the purchase as "good news for journalism." While expressing the hope that Meyer would in fact take the Republican point of view, the editorial acknowledged that he probably would not do so, since he seemed to be "no slavish supporter of any party or leader," assuring that under his leadership the ''Washington Post'' would be "hard hitting and independent, a paper that nobody can ignore." As it turned out, Meyer did take the side of the Republican party on some issues. He was opposed to
FDR
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
's
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...
, and this was reflected in the ''Post's''
editorial
An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK) is an article written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper, magazine, or any other written document, often unsigned. Australian and major United States newspapers, suc ...
stance as well as its news coverage, especially regarding the
National Recovery Administration
The National Recovery Administration (NRA) was a prime agency established by U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) in 1933. The goal of the administration was to eliminate "cut throat competition" by bringing industry, labor, and governmen ...
(NRA). He even wrote an
editorializing "news" story under a fake name.
Over the next twenty years, Meyer spent millions of dollars of his own money to keep the money-losing paper in business, while focusing on improving its quality; by the 1950s, it was finally consistently profitable and was increasingly recognized for good reporting and important editorials. As publisher, Meyer occasionally contributed to stories: his friendship with the British Ambassador,
Lord Lothian, led to a ''Washington Post'' scoop on reporting of
Edward VIII
Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...
's relationship with
Wallis Simpson
Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused ...
.
After World War II,
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
named Meyer, then 70 years old, to be the first head of the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
in June 1946. Meyer appointed his son-in-law,
Phil Graham
Philip Leslie Graham (July 18, 1915 – August 3, 1963) was an American newspaperman. He served as publisher and later co-owner of ''The Washington Post'' and its parent company, The Washington Post Company.
During his years with the Post Comp ...
, as publisher of the ''Post.'' After six months with the World Bank, Meyer returned to the ''Post,'' serving as chairman of the
Washington Post Company
Graham Holdings Company (formerly The Washington Post Company) is a diversified American conglomerate holding company. Headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia, and incorporated in Delaware, it was formerly the owner of ''The Washington Post ...
until his death in Mount Kisco, New York in 1959.
Meyer's older sister,
Florence Meyer Blumenthal
Florence Meyer Blumenthal (1875–1930) was an American philanthropist who founded the ''Fondation franco-américaine Florence Blumenthal (Franco-American Florence Blumenthal Foundation),'' which awarded the Prix Blumenthal from 1919-1954 to paint ...
, was noted for the philanthropic organization she formed, the Franco-American Florence Blumenthal Foundation, which awarded the
Prix Blumenthal
The Prix Blumenthal (or ''Blumenthal Prize'') was a grant or stipend awarded through the philanthropy of Florence Meyer Blumenthal (1875–1930) – and the foundation she created, ''Fondation franco-américaine Florence Blumenthal (Franco-Amer ...
.
His brother, Edgar J. Meyer, married to Leila Saks Meyer, the daughter of
Andrew Saks
Andrew Saks (June 5, 1847 – April 8, 1912) was an American businessman known as the founder of department store Saks Fifth Avenue.
Biography
Saks was born to a German Jewish family, in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Helena and William Sak ...
, perished in the sinking of the .
Legacy
Eugene Meyer Elementary School in Washington, DC was named in his honor in 1963. It closed in 2008 and the building has been used as swing space by the school system ever since.
References
Notes
Bibliography
*Agnes E. Meyer. ''Out of These Roots''. 1959.
*Merlo J. Pusey. '' Eugene Meyer''. 1974.
*Katharine Graham. ''
Personal History
''Personal History'' is the 1997 autobiography of ''Washington Post'' publisher Katharine Graham. It won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography, and received widespread critical acclaim for its candour in dealing with her husba ...
''. 1997.
*
*
External links
Biography of Eugene Meyer (website)Statements and Speeches of Eugene MeyerSelections from the Eugene Meyer Papers relating to the Federal Reserve from the Library of Congress
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Eugene
1875 births
1959 deaths
American financiers
American investors
American newspaper publishers (people)
American people of German-Jewish descent
American stock traders
Businesspeople from Los Angeles
Chairs of the Federal Reserve
Lowell High School (San Francisco) alumni
Newmark family
Presidents of the World Bank Group
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
The Washington Post publishers
Washington, D.C., Republicans
Yale University alumni
Hoover administration personnel
Franklin D. Roosevelt administration personnel