In 1901 JP Morgan's US Steel was the first billion dollar company in the world. The size and productivity allowed the United States to compete globally against other industrialized countries like Great Britain and Germany

In response to a strike at Carnegie's Homestead (Pennsylvania) Steel Plant in 1892, Carnegie and his plant manager Henry Frick hired a private security company, the Pinkertons, to help break the strike, leading to ten dead union workers and hundreds of injuries

In 1895, at the depth of the Panic of 1893, JP Morgan loaned the US Treasury $65 million in gold to help safeguard the collapse of the US Government

The steamboat and railroad tycoon, Cornelius Vanderbilt continuously cut shipping rates to the point that it drove his competitors out of business

John D Rockefeller often resorted to using spies and extortion to influence railroads to work in his favor by offering kickbacks and rebates that were denied to his competitors

In 1869, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk cornered the gold market by bribing the US Treasury Secretary into not releasing any gold into circulation, thus driving up the price of gold, benefiting Gould and Fisk who had been hoarding gold.

By 1890, the richest 9% of Americans held over 75% of the nation's wealth. The average income for a factory workers was $380 a year, whereas Andrew Carnegie had a yearly income of $25 million

Between 1860 and 1890, the US Patent Office issued over 400,000 patents. The technological innovation and science of the entrepreneurs helped raise the standard of living in the US and led to many inventions still in use today