[music playing] NARRATOR: America's advancement in the last three decades is staggering. Railroads have replaced wagon trails to unite the nation. And the country's cities stand tall on steel.
First, kerosene transformed the night. And now, electricity is about to light homes from coast to coast. Only, John D, Rockefeller isn't about to let JP Morgan and Thomas Edison put him out of business.
He's determined to keep kerosene the leader in the light game. He begins a campaign to stop electricity before it gains traction. Though, he may underestimate the draw of this magical new power.
JP Morgan has more to worry about than Rockefeller. Morgan's father always told him to avoid competition at all costs. And now he and Thomas Edison are locked in a heated battle over what will become the dominant form of electricity.
[music playing] (SINGING) I can't take you to heaven. I can't save your soul. I can't promise forever.
[inaudible] in your hands. I can't feel, feel my soul. [music playing] Nikola Tesla has developed a whole new way to transmit electricity.
And his technology threatens to destroy everything Morgan and Edison have built. The electrical industry has two competing systems right now-- AC and DC. This world has room for only one of them.
NARRATOR: If Morgan loses, he risks ruining his reputation and his name. Morgan ratchets up the pressure on Edison. Telling him to take out the competition in any way he can.
JP Morgan was really, an extraordinary character. He was steely-eyed, determined, very smart. And somebody who had that characteristic, I will take charge, and he did.
NARRATOR: Feeling the pressure from Morgan, Edison sets out on a mission to prove his direct current is the safest form of electricity. The war of the electric currents is the dark side of Thomas Edison. The tactics that Edison took was to persuade people that alternating current was the killer current.
It is a side of Edison we don't normally see. NARRATOR: He begins using Tesla's alternating current in a series of demonstrations, hoping to scare the public about AC's power. Edison used all sorts of dirty tricks to try to discredit AC.
He killed animals before an audience. NARRATOR: But nothing seems to be slowing the enthusiasm for Tesla's stronger current. Growing ever more desperate to please Morgan, Edison is relieved when a letter arrives that could be his opportunity.
A New York state prison has been looking to replace hanging, as a means of execution. Many have come to believe that the medieval method is cruel and inhumane. Electricity could provide a useful alternative.
The design Edison envisions is simple, yet groundbreaking. [music playing] Edison became very happy to help develop an electric chair, as long as that electric chair used Westinghouse alternating current generators. Edison devotes his labs attention to the development of the world's first electric chair.
It's the perfect opportunity to prove that Tesla's AC is dangerous, even deadly. The prison invites the press to witness the most sensational demonstration imaginable-- the world's first human execution by electricity. Is it ready?
Yes. Goodbye, William. He's dead.
He's bleeding. He's breathing. I'm going to be sick.
They then, essentially, roasted this man alive. It was a botched execution. NARRATOR: The gruesome act backfires on Edison.
The public doesn't connect AC to Tesla. All they remember is that electricity was used to kill a man, and that Edison was behind it. The damage to his reputation is massive.
And JP Morgan endures an even worse fate. Now I have to read in the newspaper, my son is funding Edison, a Latter day Frankenstein. He didn't pull the switch.
Let me make a few points clear to you. I do not want the House of Morgan associated with electricity or any of the devil's works. I've spent my entire life making a name, and I'm not about to let you destroy-- I have a chance to build-- Pierpont, it's over.
I set sail for Monaco tomorrow. While I'm away, see to it that you sell whatever stakes you have in these Edison companies. [music playing] NARRATOR: Morgan set out to become a legendary innovator in his own right, but now his dream has come crashing down.
Edison has played directly into John Rockefeller's hands, demonstrating electricity to be dangerous and deadly. Morgan knows that pulling his funds from Edison would completely destroy the electric industry, and leave Rockefeller at the top of the light game. But despite his father's objections.
Morgan is still convinced that electricity is the future. And soon, news of a new project reignites his ambitions. A project that will remove the stain of Edison's experiments and restore the public's trust in the electric industry.
Electricity is about to go national. A company at Niagara Falls has begun work on one of the most ambitious construction projects ever undertaken. The world's largest power plant is being built.
And 1,300 men are digging a massive tunnel 2 and 1/2 miles into bedrock. Once complete, the raw power of the falls will generate a mind-boggling 120,000 horsepower. More than all the electricity being produced throughout the country combined.
Niagara is a watershed in the history of the electric industry. It shows that it is not only feasible, but practical to transmit electricity over distance. NARRATOR: The Niagara power station will be capable of generating enough electricity to light the entire Northeast.
To take such an incredibly famous place that's got this extraordinary water power and harness it to electricity was going to make the case to the world, this was something you could do everywhere. NARRATOR: But the Niagara Power Company hasn't yet decided who will power the generators-- Morgan and Edison's DC or Tesla's AC. [music playing] The world's biggest power station would be a huge game-changer.
JP Morgan knows it's his opportunity to create the empire he's always wanted. But he also knows that getting the contract to power Niagara would require a massive investment. One his father would never allow.
Morgan agonizes over his next move, until tragedy strikes. His father has been in a horrible carriage crash. Junius Morgan dies as a result of his injuries.
JP is now left in charge of the House of Morgan. The empire includes a vast portfolio of businesses invested in railroads, real estate, shipping, manufacturing, and electricity. With his father gone, nothing is holding Morgan back.
When Junius died, it was truly. A devastating moment for Morgan. But also ended up being a bit of a relief because after his father's death, he really came into his own.
The freedom really helped him realize his full potential, in some ways. NARRATOR: Morgan's net worth more than quadruples. And instantly, he has hundreds of millions of dollars.
Money he plans on using to win the Niagara contract. The best time to buy is when there's blood on the streets. I'm not sure I follow you.
It's advice Lord Rothschild gave my father. It's advice he never took. I'm increasing my investment to $4 million.
I'll give you an extra million in cash to pursue other projects. That shouldn't be a problem. Good.
The Niagara Falls Power Company is inviting bids for the new Niagara Falls central power station. They haven't yet decided if they want to go with AC or DC. I want you to prepare a bid, Edison.
This is now a race. You better win. [music playing] NARRATOR: 30 years of unparalleled growth have made America one of the world's most powerful countries.
Coast to coast travel, artificial light, and skyscrapers now dot the landscape. Men like Vanderbilt, Carnegie, and Rockefeller have made fortunes building modern America. And now JP Morgan is hoping to join them, by bringing a revolutionary new technology to the masses.
But Morgan's attempt to build the world's leading electric company is being challenged. While he's backing Thomas Edison's direct current, George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla are developing a different standard-- alternating current. As the competition heats up, the opportunity to operate the Niagara Falls power station reignites Morgan's ambitions.
He knows that whoever controls Niagara Falls will control the future of electricity. Timing is everything in business. Everybody wants to be the first mover.
Everybody wants to be on the bleeding edge or the cutting edge. You have to be on the pulse of the moment. Timing in business, just like timing in life, is perhaps.
As important as any other single factor. [music playing] NARRATOR: Construction of the Niagara power station is continuing at a blistering pace. Workmen are almost finished with a 2 and 1/2 mile long tunnel.
And it won't be long until water shoots through it, powering turbines the size of houses. Those turbines will generate enough electricity to light up the entire Northeast. Morgan knows that to win the contract, he'll need to eliminate the competition.
Tesla and Westinghouse are making headway with alternating current. But after the company's rapid expansion, Westinghouse is drowning in debt, and his business is struggling to stay afloat. JP Morgan sees an opportunity to take advantage of his vulnerability.
JP Morgan was a huge power on the stock market when it was not at all regulated. In the case of George Westinghouse, his company, on a number of occasions, was assaulted on the stock market by Morgan entities. NARRATOR: Morgan capitalizes on a downturn in the economy.
Launching a smear campaign designed to trigger a sell-off of Westinghouse stock. Mr Morgan. Mr Morgan.
Mr Morgan. Mr Morgan. What is to be done about the panic?
There's no need to panic. Mr Morgan, are we on the verge of a depression? Not if we act wisely.
How many more companies will go bust, Mr Morgan? The only companies at risk are those fast-expanding, capital-intensive, debt-ridden ventures. Thank you, gentlemen.
Mr Morgan. NARRATOR: Morgan's remarks are subtle. But his influence on Wall Street is so great, their effect is devastating.
Over the next few weeks, investors sell off Westinghouse stock, sending the company into a tailspin. Within days, it's almost bankrupt. You get successful at something.
And all of a sudden, you make a lot of money, and the world says you're successful. There's no margin of failure anymore. There's only degrees of success.
NARRATOR: With Westinghouse driven into debt, Morgan is convinced there's no longer any competition to win the contract for Niagara. Unable to raise additional funds, Westinghouse is ready to admit defeat. Tesla, the reason I'm here is to tell you that my company is on the verge of bankruptcy.
You have my AC motor design. You can raise more money. It's the opposite.
Nobody will lend me money because of the royalty deal on your patents. Benefits that will come to civilization from my polyphase system will mean more to me than money involved. Mr Westinghouse, you will save your company to develop my invention.
[music playing] This is my contract. And I will tear it to pieces, and you will no longer have any troubles from my royalties. Thank you, Nikola.
NARRATOR: Tesla gives Westinghouse control of AC, and forgoes all claim to his patents. Investments soon pour in, and Westinghouse Electric is viable, again. Westinghouse knows that to beat Morgan, he needs a bold move.
And soon, he has the perfect opportunity. Chicago is about to host one of the globe's landmark events-- the World's Fair. Organizers want it to be the most stunning display of technology ever seen.
They decide to light the entire event using electricity. The managers and creators of the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 want to have an entirely electric city. They want to be cutting-edge.
They invite companies to bid on this contract to electrify the fair. NARRATOR: Morgan assumes that he and Edison are a lock to light the fair. But Westinghouse has other plans.
He drastically under-bids the project. Claiming he can light the fair for less than a quarter of what Morgan and Edison have bid. The bold move secures the contract.
And Westinghouse and Tesla immediately get to work wiring the fairgrounds. And finally, on opening night, with the eyes of the world on Chicago, they flip the switch. And instantly, over 200,000 light bulbs come to life.
27 million people came to this fair, and saw an electrified world. And that had a huge, huge impact in spreading this technology. People realized that there was a whole electrical future coming.
NARRATOR: It's a display unlike any the world has ever seen. And it's all powered using George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla's alternating current electricity. The fair forever demonstrates the safety and viability of AC.
Westinghouse and Tesla's incredible display has another consequence. A decision is made on who will power the Niagara Falls station. Two letters go out, but only one man can win the contract.
[music playing] America is now the most technologically advanced nation on the planet. Trains, oil, and steel have built the country. And the newest sensation is electric light.
Showcased at the Chicago World's Fair, electricity is about to go national. But a battle has broken out. Pitting JP Morgan and Thomas Edison against George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla in a fight for control of the world's largest power plant at Niagara Falls.
If you're really trying to not just create a company, but create a new industry and change the world in a fundamental way, then you really need to believe in the idea and stick with it through thick and thin. Because it's going to be a tough road. NARRATOR: JP Morgan has invested millions in the electric industry, hoping to replace John D.
Rockefeller as the man lighting America. And the Niagara power plant could give him control over the future of electricity. Whoever wins this contract is going to be the preeminent electrical company.
Not just in America, but the world. NARRATOR: The plant at Niagara Falls reaches a decision, and two letters go out. But there can only be one winner.
In a shocking twist, George Westinghouse wins the contract for the power station. You always want to be in the winning locker room. You don't want to be in the losers locker room with a towel around your head.
NARRATOR: JP Morgan has been badly defeated. His dream of building an industry from the ground up is over. His attempt to make his own name ruined.
This is the stuff of carnivals and fairs. And he'd been played for a fool. NARRATOR: He realizes his father may have been right all along.
But never willing to admit defeat, JP Morgan immediately sees a way to turn failure into opportunity. JP Morgan made a mistake backing Thomas Edison. They all make mistakes.
And I always say that you have to guard against a downside. Because it can be the greatest deal you've ever seen, and there is a chance that that deal won't work out. Don't let a deal like that take you down if it doesn't work.
NARRATOR: Morgan is determined to gain control of the electric industry. And he's going to do it the Morgan way. If you were on his bad side or he coveted your company or the technology that your company had, you did not want to be in that position.
NARRATOR: Morgan returns to the lessons of his father. He's going to intimidate the competition into submission. He starts his attack by going after Westinghouse and everything he owns, including Tesla's AC electricity patents.
Congratulations, Westinghouse. I hear you won the Niagara Falls contract. I'll be taking you to court for patent infringement over AC designs.
Why would you start a legal case that will cost millions? A case that you will lose? Because you don't have the resources to fight such a case.
And you'll go under. What is it you want? You know the answer to that.
My first demonstration is for those amongst you who fear. NARRATOR: Westinghouse has no choice, but to give in to Morgan's demands, knowing that the cost of a lawsuit will put him out of business. He's forced to sign over the patents for Tesla's AC electricity.
But Morgan doesn't stop with Westinghouse. With the loss of the Niagara contract, the company Morgan started with Thomas Edison is broken. And Edison's DC electricity looks like a failure.
Thomas Edison, he is probably, the most brilliant inventor America ever had. And like many brilliant men, he was capable of spectacularly wrong choices. NARRATOR: As far as Morgan's concerned, there's only one way to fix Edison Electric.
He's going to streamline the company. And his first step is to eliminate Thomas Edison. Morgan buys up additional shares of Edison Electric stock, until he has complete control of the company.
It's a device that shows moving pictures. We'll put the Niagara business behind us. Edison General Electric will move forward to greater things.
The name of the company has been changed to General Electric. But it's my company. Surely, I have a say.
Not anymore. You no longer have a majority stake. [music playing] NARRATOR: Morgan's new electric company, General Electric, is instantly one of the most powerful corporations on Earth, valued at $50 million or the modern equivalent of over $1 billion.
With Edison out of the way, Morgan converts the company to AC electricity-- the standard that's still used today. With General Electric, you could tell they were building a big company and something that was really going to change the world. They were really trying to position it in the marketplace as a significant, lasting company.
NARRATOR: General Electric will go on to become one of America's biggest corporations. The players change. The stakes change.
But the essence of the game stays the same. Whether it's understanding who it is that you have to massage, who it is you've got to knock on the head, who it is you have to buy off to do this-- that's the game. NARRATOR: With the creation of GE, JP Morgan has consolidated the electric industry, just like he did with the railroads and Wall Street.
It's a move he learned from his father. A move JP Morgan has now made his own. There's always a reason why you can't do something.
But if deep inside you, it's what you want very badly, you take chances. You measure opportunity. And get where you want to go.
NARRATOR: JP Morgan joins Rockefeller and Carnegie as one of the most powerful men in the country. But Morgan's rapid rise to the top makes him hungrier than ever. And as his power grows, his rivals are forced to adjust.
[music playing] America is the fastest growing country on the planet. Linked by railroads, fueled by oil, and built on steel. The nation has become a battleground for a magical new innovation.
Electricity is transforming the world. And with General Electric, JP Morgan is the uncontested leader in the industry. Using his millions to build power stations from coast to coast, bringing electricity to the masses for the first time.
Entrepreneurs who want to change the world, who want to have a significant impact, don't want to just build a company. They want to build an industry. Don't want to just create another product or service.
They really want to fundamentally improve aspects of people's lives. NARRATOR: But JP Morgan doesn't want to be confined to just one industry. He wants to own them all.
As the head of the biggest investment bank in the world, Morgan has unrivaled power and influence. And he's returned to his old ways. Only now, he's taken the House of Morgan to another level.
Morgan's reach was very broad in American industry. He becomes the most respected, reliable, and trusted figure. Not only because of the power and wealth that he wields, but just because of his character.
NARRATOR: After a two year depression, the US Treasury has come perilously close to bankruptcy. And there's only one man the government can turn to. JP Morgan is called to Washington to help.
We think of bankers now as just greedy bankster gangsters. Morgan was, maybe, one of the greediest of all, but he also had this side of him, which just said I have faith in men. I have faith in country.
And I am going to lend it. NARRATOR: Morgan puts together a loan worth over $100 million, almost $3 billion today, and bails out the federal government. Saving the American economy from complete collapse.
JP Morgan was really, the country's banker. Today when you think of that, it's inconceivable. But he would loan the country money when the country was in trouble.
Morgan, obviously, was looking at the national interest in the context of his own. That is saving the US Treasury wasn't an act of basic self-interest, but it was an act of nationalism. NARRATOR: Morgan's newfound power is a huge wake up call to his rivals.
They see Morgan as a threat they need to deal with, before he deals with them. [music playing] John Rockefeller feels the pressure to keep his empire intact like never before. Despite his best efforts to stop it in its tracks, electricity has gone mainstream.
The people started these great companies. They just think out solutions on their own to problems. You don't do it the way it's been done before.
That's in a book. You go out and you try something new because you think that you'll be able to make it work. NARRATOR: To keep Standard Oil profitable, Rockefeller needs to find a product to replace kerosene.
And the answer may have been in front of him the entire time. At just over 100 degrees, you get a mixture of alkanes. Sadly, can't be used for anything.
Why not? Too volatile. NARRATOR: Rockefeller targets a byproduct of refining oil that for years has been thrown away.
The highly flammable runoff is soaking fields and polluting rivers. The toxic substance is called gasoline. And so far, no one has figured out a use for it.
Oftentimes, I'm asked, do you have to be ruthless to be very successful? And I say, you do not have to be ruthless. You have to be smart.
Smart is the key word. You have to be smart. NARRATOR: Rockefeller hires a team of scientists to try to find a use for the toxic substance.
First, they create small products, like synthetic beeswax and petroleum jelly. But Rockefeller becomes convinced gasoline has a bigger potential. [music playing] The quest to create a more powerful motor leads to the development of the internal combustion engine.
The exact properties that make gasoline so dangerous also make it the perfect fuel to power this engine. You're always looking for the next innovation, the next niche, the next product improvement, the next service improvement. You're always trying to get better.
NARRATOR: The timing is perfect for Rockefeller. Already in possession of the world's largest supply of gasoline, he starts using gasoline-powered engines to run machines in his refineries. The efficiency and power of the engine quickly make it the standard in factories across the country.
But when the engine is put on wheels, creating what's being called the horseless carriage, Rockefeller realizes that gasoline could be even bigger than kerosene. [music playing] But right when Rockefeller sees the future of the oil industry-- No man can earn a million dollars honestly. An outside threat emerges.
I will tear down these trusts. Who could destroy everything he and his rivals have built. Do you hear me, Carnegie?
Do you hear me, Rockefeller? [music playing] NARRATOR: As the 20th century approaches, JP Morgan and John Rockefeller have been locked in a battle, pitting electricity against kerosene. Their rival, Andrew Carnegie, has stayed out of the fray.
He's been quietly building his steel empire bigger than ever, including landing lucrative contracts with the US Navy to provide steel for warships, making him one of the country's first defense contractors. The great business icons, it's not that they were worth hundreds of millions or billions or trillions of dollars. It's that they moved society forward.
Whatever their motivations, whatever it was, they being here and their lust for success, for power, for money, for fame moved us forward. [music playing] NARRATOR: But now JP Morgan is about to take business to a whole new level. He begins looking for other ways to make money.
Building on his father's business model, he creates a tactic that's so innovative, it becomes known as Morganization. Morganization. In effect.
Means taking companies that were fighting each other, bringing them together, and managing the company in such a way that competition is reduced, profits are increased. In other words, trying to impose order on these fiercely competitive industries. NARRATOR: Morgan starts restructuring companies in industries across the country.
Firing workers and eliminating inefficiencies, while prioritizing profits over everything else. And soon, Morgan's rivals adopt the same approach. The private sector-- greed, ambition, dreamers, the stuff of entrepreneurs.
Look at it too closely, you may not admire it as much as you do after the fact. NARRATOR: Carnegie and Rockefeller begin Morganizes their own companies. Maximizing profits by slashing their workforce.
Those who still have a job are forced to work longer hours, for even less pay. What we saw during this golden age of capitalism was the unregulated side of capitalism that make us feel these days, glad for federal government. Because no one else was keeping an eye on things.
NARRATOR: Conditions for workers across the country become almost unbearable, as going to work for many Americans becomes a dangerous proposition. You had a working class or even the unemployed who had a very hard time of it. They had low-paying jobs, If any at all, in this period.
A little bit above starvation wages, many of them. So there's a growing disparity of wealth in this period that was very striking. What people define as haves and have-nots, super rich hedge fund guys and people just trying to pay their mortgage, is still nowhere near what was going on in the old days, as far as you truly abusive conditions for workers.
NARRATOR: The gap between the rich and the poor continues to grow at a staggering rate. While the working class struggles, profits for Carnegie, Morgan, and Rockefeller are better than ever. To millions of workers around the country, the titans of industry have become a symbol of everything wrong with America.
A seething undercurrent of anger takes hold. One that quickly bubbles to the surface. With an election year on the horizon, a politician from Nebraska is channeling the public's frustrations.
I will tear down those trusts. And directing them right at America's richest men. Do you hear me, Carnegie?
Do you hear me, Rockefeller? NARRATOR: William Jennings Bryan is an up and coming political force who's drawing huge crowds, vowing to put an end to the country's monopolies. But Bryan's promise of change is bad news for the leaders of American business.
To many people, it seemed as though big money, big corporations, and the biggest of all, Standard Oil, were taking over the country. From this, emerged the progressive movement. And a major part of its platform was antitrust legislation.
Not just legislation, but antitrust prosecution. [music playing] NARRATOR: Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Morgan have built entire industries from the ground up. They're not about to let a charismatic politician destroy their empires.
But public opinion is solidifying against them. And as Bryan begins a campaign for the White House, the titans know that stopping him won't be easy. They devise a plan so bold, no one has ever attempted it before.
There's only one problem. To be successful, they can't work alone. For the first time, America's most powerful men will have to put their rivalries aside and start working together.
What do you think? We need to buy the president. [music playing] NARRATOR: They've battled each other for decades.
But now, the country's biggest titans have no choice but to unite. In a pivotal election, Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Morgan join forces to ensure the White House will bend to their will. I'll make sure he'll be our man in the White House.
NARRATOR: And as they continue to amass their fortunes-- Congratulations, Carnegie. You're now the richest man in the world. NARRATOR: A legendary innovator from a new generation transforms the country.
The Ford Motor car is the first car affordable for the common man. NARRATOR: Ushering in a whole new era. And due to an unlikely turn of events-- I, Theodore Roosevelt, do solemnly swear.
NARRATOR: The titans face their toughest challenge, yet. The United States versus Standard Oil is now in session.
