Billionaire Biographies

Episode 10 - Henry Ford: Assembly Line Tyrant

The same mind that revolutionized industry also harbored dark and hateful ideologies. This episode pulls back the curtain on the other Henry Ford: the tyrant, the union-buster, and one of America’s most prominent antisemites. We reveal the oppressive reality of life inside his factories, where the assembly line’s crushing monotony was matched by a corporate police force known as the "Service Department" that spied on and intimidated workers. His famous "$5 day" came with a catch: employees had to submit to intrusive inspections of their private lives by his "Sociological Department" to prove they were morally worthy of the high wage.
We then investigate his deep-seated antisemitism, which he spread through his self-published newspaper, The Dearborn Independent. For years, this paper propagated hateful conspiracy theories, including "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion," to an audience of hundreds of thousands, making him a celebrated figure by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. This was not a private prejudice but a public crusade financed by his immense fortune. His control extended to his own family, particularly his son Edsel, whom he publicly undermined and emotionally abused for years.
This episode confronts the disturbing duality of a celebrated American icon. Henry Ford's legacy is a stark reminder that revolutionary innovation can coexist with reactionary and destructive beliefs. He built a modern marvel of production, but it was housed within a dark age of prejudice and control.

Episode 11 - The Rockefellers: From Oil to Politics

How does a family whose name was once synonymous with corporate evil transform itself into a symbol of public service and philanthropy? This episode follows the Rockefeller dynasty into the 20th century, focusing on John D. Rockefeller Jr., the son tasked with rehabilitating the family’s tarnished name. We explore how Junior shifted the family’s focus from profit to philanthropy, institutionalizing the giving his father began and creating a powerful public relations machine. The goal was to erase the image of the robber baron and replace it with that of the responsible civic leader.
The key to this transformation was a pivot from business to the corridors of power and influence. We investigate the family’s deep involvement in politics, culminating in Nelson Rockefeller’s rise to Governor of New York and Vice President of the United States. We also examine the creation of powerful, tax-exempt foundations that gave the family immense influence over public policy, medicine, and international affairs for decades. Their vast network, which included the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission, led many to believe they were the shadowy figures truly running the country.
This is the story of the ultimate reputation makeover, a masterclass in using wealth to buy not just assets, but legitimacy and political power. The Rockefellers pioneered a new model for dynastic influence, proving that the greatest power comes not from owning an industry, but from shaping the society that surrounds it. Their name was no longer just on oil barrels, but on university halls and government buildings.

Episode 12 - The Fords: A Legacy of Cars and Conflict

While the Rockefellers pursued public influence, the Ford dynasty remained a closed, private, and often dysfunctional kingdom. This episode delves into the tumultuous history of the Ford family after its patriarch, exploring the bitter conflicts, power struggles, and personal tragedies that nearly destroyed the company. At the center of the drama is the tragic relationship between Henry Ford and his only son, Edsel. Edsel, a man of refined taste and forward-thinking design, was constantly undermined and humiliated by his domineering father, who resisted any change to his beloved Model T.
After Edsel’s premature death, an aging and erratic Henry Ford was forced to resume control, nearly running the company into the ground until his grandson, Henry Ford II, was released from the Navy to stage a corporate coup. "Hank the Deuce" wrested control from his grandfather's cronies and modernized the company, saving it from bankruptcy. We explore the high-stakes corporate drama of the 1950s and 60s, including the disastrous launch of the Edsel car and the triumphant creation of the Mustang under the leadership of Lee Iacocca, who would himself later be famously fired by an insecure Henry II.
The story of the Ford dynasty is a gripping Shakespearean tale of fathers and sons, of jealousy, and of the immense pressure that comes with inheriting a name and an empire. It reveals that the greatest threat to a family business often comes from within the family itself. Their legacy was not just one of cars, but of deep and enduring conflict.

Episode 13 - The Kennedys: Old Money, New Power

The Kennedy family represents the pinnacle of dynastic ambition: the transformation of a fortune into the ultimate prize, the American presidency. This episode uncovers the story of the dynasty’s patriarch, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., a ruthless businessman who amassed a fortune and then dedicated it to a singular goal: placing his sons in the White House. We investigate the controversial origins of his wealth, from rumored bootlegging during Prohibition to shrewd stock market manipulation and Hollywood studio ownership.
Joe Kennedy was a master of power, serving as the first head of the SEC and as Ambassador to Great Britain, all while meticulously planning his children's political careers. We expose his cold, calculated approach to building a dynasty, where each child was a pawn in his grand strategy. He poured millions into his son John F. Kennedy’s campaigns, effectively purchasing the political infrastructure needed to win a Senate seat and, eventually, the presidency. This was the ultimate merger of money and politics, executed with a brutal efficiency that shocked the political establishment.
The story of the Kennedys is a lesson in how "new money" can be laundered through politics to create an image of noble public service and an "American Camelot." We explore the immense drive, the hidden scandals, and the immense tragedy of a family that pursued power more relentlessly than any other. They achieved the American dream by rewriting its rules.

Episode 14 - The Guggenheims: From Mining to Modern Art

The name Guggenheim is now synonymous with modern art, but the fortune that built its iconic museums came from deep within the earth. This episode traces the Guggenheim dynasty's journey from the rugged mining camps of the American West to the elegant art galleries of New York and Venice. We begin with Meyer Guggenheim and his seven sons, who built a global empire by dominating the mining and smelting of silver, copper, and lead. They were industrialists on a global scale, operating with a cutthroat competitiveness that rivaled the Rockefellers.
We explore how the family's immense industrial wealth was later transformed into cultural capital by subsequent generations. The key figure in this pivot was Solomon R. Guggenheim, who, influenced by his artistic advisor Hilla von Rebay, became a passionate collector of abstract "non-objective" art. This was a radical act at the time, and it set the stage for the creation of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, a stunning architectural masterpiece designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. His niece, Peggy Guggenheim, would become one of the most important patrons of the 20th century, championing artists like Jackson Pollock and Max Ernst.
The Guggenheim story reveals how a dynasty can completely reinvent its public identity. We examine this remarkable transition from the grimy, exploitative world of industrial mining to the pristine, avant-garde world of modern art. It is a powerful example of how a fortune built on extracting resources from the ground can be used to create a legacy of cultural creation.

Episode 15 - The Waltons: The Low-Cost Empire of Walmart

Sam Walton, a folksy, pickup-driving man from Arkansas, crafted an image as a down-to-earth champion of the common person. This episode delves into the origin story of Walton and his creation, Walmart, the largest retailer and largest private employer in the world. We explore his simple yet revolutionary vision: to bring big-city discounts to rural America through a relentless focus on logistics, efficiency, and, above all, the lowest possible prices.
We analyze the core principles that drove Walmart's explosive growth, from its pioneering use of satellite technology to track inventory to its famously frugal corporate culture. Walton's "Made in America" rhetoric and his "everyday low prices" promise resonated deeply with consumers, allowing him to build a retail behemoth that reshaped the American landscape. He presented himself not as a ruthless tycoon, but as a humble shopkeeper who had simply found a better way to serve his customers. His personal fortune grew into the single largest family fortune in the world.
This episode paints a portrait of the man and the myth he carefully cultivated. We show how his simple, powerful idea laid the foundation for a global empire. But behind the friendly greeters and the rollback prices, a much more complicated and controversial business machine was being built.

Episode 16 - Inside the Walton Machine: The Human Cost of Everyday Low Prices

"Everyday low prices" come at a cost. This episode goes behind the scenes of the Walmart empire to expose the controversial business practices that have made the Walton family the richest dynasty in America. We investigate the company’s famously anti-union stance, documenting the sophisticated tactics it has used for decades to prevent its workforce from organizing. From manager training on "union avoidance" to the immediate shutdown of stores that successfully vote to unionize, the message is clear: the company's power must remain absolute.
We then explore Walmart’s impact on global supply chains, showing how its immense purchasing power allows it to dictate terms to suppliers, forcing them to cut their own costs by moving production overseas and squeezing their own workers' wages. We also examine the "Walmart Effect" on local economies, where the arrival of a new Supercenter often leads to the closure of small, family-owned businesses, fundamentally altering the fabric of Main Street America. Furthermore, we scrutinize the company's reliance on taxpayer-funded social programs, as many of its low-wage employees are forced to depend on food stamps and public healthcare to make ends meet.
This is the story of the hidden subsidies and human consequences that underpin the Walton family’s multi-billion-dollar fortune. We ask the difficult question: is the convenience of low prices worth the societal cost? This is the exposé of the machine that Sam Walton built.

Episode 17 - The Koch Brothers: The Architects of a Political Revolution

For decades, Charles and David Koch operated in the shadows, building a political machine more powerful and influential than almost any in American history. This episode uncovers the origins of the Koch brothers' crusade, beginning with their father, Fred Koch, a founding member of the far-right John Birch Society who made his early fortune building refineries for Joseph Stalin. We trace how his sons inherited both his immense wealth and his fervent anti-government, libertarian ideology.
We explore how Charles Koch, from the headquarters of his massive private company, Koch Industries, began developing a grand, multi-decade strategy to reshape American politics. The plan involved a three-pronged attack: funding intellectuals and academics to create the ideology, financing think tanks and advocacy groups to turn that ideology into policy, and funding politicians who would enact those policies into law. It was a systematic, patient, and brilliantly executed plan to move their fringe ideas into the mainstream.
This episode reveals the blueprint for the Kochs' revolution. We show how they used the profits from their oil and chemical empire to build a network designed for a single purpose: to dismantle regulations, lower corporate taxes, and fight climate science, all to benefit their bottom line. Before they were a household name, they were the quiet architects of a new political order.

Episode 18 - Dark Money: How the Kochs Reshaped America

This episode follows the money. We dive deep into the Kochs' vast and secretive network of political non-profits and dark money groups, a sprawling web designed to obscure the source of hundreds of millions of dollars in political spending. We expose how groups like Americans for Prosperity and the Cato Institute were used to fuel the rise of the Tea Party movement, fight against the Affordable Care Act, and systematically install conservative judges at every level of the judiciary.
We investigate the Kochs' influential donor summits, secret biannual meetings where they convened hundreds of other conservative billionaires and millionaires to pool their resources and coordinate their political strategy. This network effectively acted as a shadow political party, complete with its own fundraising apparatus, policy goals, and ground game, all operating outside the traditional campaign finance system. Their combined financial firepower allowed them to rival the Republican Party itself in scale and influence. We analyze specific campaigns where their network's spending overwhelmed opponents and shaped electoral outcomes.
This is the story of how two billionaires used their fortunes to successfully execute a hostile takeover of a major political party and pull the center of American politics sharply to the right. The "dark money" they unleashed has fundamentally and perhaps irrevocably changed the relationship between wealth and power in America. Their revolution was a success.

Episode 19 - The Mars Family: Candy, Secrecy, and Billions

The Mars family is the dynasty behind some of the world's most iconic brands—M&Ms, Snickers, and Milky Way—yet they are arguably the most secretive family in America. This episode penetrates the thick veil of privacy surrounding the clan that controls the largest candy company on Earth. We trace the family's history back to its founder, Frank Mars, and his often-strained relationship with his son, Forrest Sr., the tyrannical and brilliant visionary who built the company into a global powerhouse.
We expose the cult-like corporate culture that Forrest Sr. instilled, known as the "Five Principles," which demanded quality and efficiency above all else. His fanatical obsession with secrecy extended from the company's finances—which remain entirely private—to his own family life, keeping his children and grandchildren out of the public eye for decades. We investigate how this intense privacy has allowed the family to amass a fortune estimated to be over $100 billion while avoiding the public scrutiny faced by other dynasties like the Waltons and the Kochs. Their influence is everywhere, yet the family itself is virtually invisible.
This episode delves into the paradox of the Mars family: a company whose products are a colorful and joyful part of everyday life, run by a dynasty that operates with the discipline and secrecy of a covert intelligence agency. We uncover the story of the billionaires who hide in plain sight. This is a rare glimpse inside one of America's most powerful and unknown empires.