Henry Phipps Jr. (September 27, 1839 – September 22, 1930) was an American entrepreneur known for his business relationship with Andrew Carnegie and involvement with the Carnegie Steel Company. He was also a successful real estate investor. After selling his stock in Carnegie Steel, he devoted a great deal of his time and money to philanthropic works.
Early life
Henry Phipps Jr. was born on September 27, 1839, in
shoemaker,[2] and Hannah (née Franks),[3] were married at Wolverhampton in 1824[4] and had at least one son born while they were still in England. William Henry Phipps was born on 27 March 1825 and baptized at Wellington, Shropshire, England, on 18 August 1830.[5]
The family emigrated to Philadelphia by 1839. They later moved to
Pittsburgh
in 1845.
Phipps was educated at public schools in
Allegheny City, Pennsylvania.[6] He had two older brothers: William Henry Phipps (1825-1902), and John Phipps (1833-1860); and a younger sister, Amelia Phipps (Mrs. John Walker; 1846-1887). , and , who was also friends with Carnegie and who died young.[7]
Career
Phipps began working as a young man as an office boy and later a bookkeeper with Dillworth & Bidwell. In 1861, he became a partner in Bidwell & Phipps, which was an agent for the
This was created by a merger between Phipps' Kloman & Phipps and Cyclops Iron Company, an iron company in which the Carnegies had acquired an interest.[8] Kloman and Phipps at first refused, but Thomas Carnegie made an offer of all the shares in Cyclops plus an additional payment of $50,000 (equivalent to $995,000 in 2023).[9] Therefore, on May 1, 1865, the new Union Iron Mills Company was formed.[9][10]
For the next year, Phipps and Carnegie went to Europe on tour, and when they returned in 1866, went to work. Phipps toiled for the next 20 years and proved a capable financier, becoming Carnegie's business partner in Carnegie Steel Company, founded in 1892. He became a very wealthy man as the company's second-largest shareholder.
In 1901, Carnegie Steel Company was sold to the
Pierpont Morgan.[11] It sold for $400 million (approx. $13.3 billion today), of which $226 million went to Carnegie himself,[12] and $48 million went to Phipps.[3]
In 1907, Henry Phipps established Bessemer Trust Company to manage his substantial assets. They would be shared by his children following his death (and, ultimately, that of his wife).
Real estate
In 1909, Phipps expanded his Cape Cod holdings to the entire 800- acre Great Island
Henry M. Flagler, and Henry Clay Frick, all friends and associates from Pittsburgh.[16]
In 1912, Phipps divided $3,000,000 (equivalent to $94,717,000 in 2023) worth of real estate in Chicago, Illinois realty among his three sons.[17] Later in the same year, he gave his sons $10,000,000 (equivalent to $315,724,000 in 2023) worth of property in Pittsburgh.[18]
In 1916, he purchased property in
Great Neck, Long Island in the Village of Lake Success. In 1917 he had construction begun there on a thirty-nine-room Georgian mansion summer home; it was completed in 1919. He named the home 'Bonnie Blink', which is Scottish for Pretty View. After his death, the mansion and property were donated to the school district. They have been adapted for use as William A. Shine Great Neck South High School.[19][20]
In 1926, Phipps bought Island Beach, New Jersey. His heirs sold it in 1953 to the
Island Beach State Park, it is the last remaining stretch of undeveloped barrier island on the central New Jersey coast.[21]
Phipps was one of the pioneer investors in
Fort Lauderdale, prime bay front property in downtown Miami, and 29,653 acres (approximately 12,000 hectares) of land in Martin County. The Phipps family donated an ocean-to-lake property to the town of Palm Beach. This was one of the most significant gifts in county history; the property is now known as Phipps Park
.
Philanthropy
Phipps believed that those who have achieved great wealth should give back for the public good and create institutions dedicated to that purpose.[22] He was involved with a number of philanthropic causes, the best known of which is the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Schenley Park, an 1893 gift to the city of Pittsburgh.
that was constructed as part of an acute care hospital.
Phipps was an advocate for decent housing for the poor. In 1905 he funded the non-profit Phipps Houses to build affordable housing in New York City.[26][27] He gave $1,000,000 (equivalent to $33,911,000 in 2023) to build tenement houses for "working people."[28] Phipps Houses still operates to this day. Henry Phipps's great-grandson, Stuart S. Janney III, sits on its board of trustees.