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
J.P. 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.
J.P. 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.
(Blues Saraceno playing "Save My Soul")
♪ When I got to Memphis ♪
♪ I put my old baby down ♪
♪ He said I can't take you to Heaven ♪
♪ I can't save your soul ♪
♪ I can't promise forever ♪
♪ Whoo ♪
♪ With my heart in your hands ♪
♪ I can't feel, fell my soul ♪
Edison became very happy to help
develop an electric chair, as long as that electric
chair used Westinghouse alternating current generators.
Edison devotes his lab's 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 gonna be sick.
They then essentially
roasted this man alive.
It was a botched execution.
The gruesome act backfires on Edison.
The public doesn't connect A.C. 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 J.P. 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 have spent my life making a name
and I am not about to let you destroy it.
I have a chance to build here--
Pierpont!
It's over.
I set sail for Monaco tomorrow.
While I'm away, see to it you sell
whatever stakes you have in these Edison companies.
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
2.5 miles into bedrock.
Once complete, the raw power of the falls
will generate a mind boggling 120,000 horse power.
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.
The Niagara power station will be capable
of generating enough electricity to light
the entire Northeast.
To take such a incredibly famous place
that's got this extraordinary water power
and harness it to electricity was going to make
the case to the world that this was something
you could do everywhere.
But the Niagara Power Company
hasn't yet decided who will power the generators...
...Morgan and Edison's D.C. Or Tesla's A.C.
The world's biggest power station would be
a huge game changer.
J.P. 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.
Sir.
His father has been
in a horrible carriage crash.
Junius Morgan dies as a result of his injuries.
J.P. 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.
JENNIFER TONKOVICH: When Junius died it
was truly a devastating moment for Morgan.
But also it 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
the full potential in some ways.
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 Lloyd 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 dollars 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 A.C or D.C.
I want you to prepare a bid, Edison.
This is now a race.
You better win.
RICHARD PARSONS: 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 is just like timing in life.
It is perhaps as important as any other single factor.
Construction of the Niagara Power Station
is continuing at a blistering pace.
Workmen are almost finished
with a 2.5-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 their company's rapid expansion,
Westinghouse is drowning in debt.
And his business is struggling to stay afloat.
J.P. Morgan sees an opportunity to take advantage
of his vulnerability.
J.P. 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.
Morgan capitalizes on a downturn
in the economy.
...launching a smear campaign designed
to trigger a sell-off of Westinghouse stock.
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.
Now 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! Mr. Morgan!
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's 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 for failure anymore.
There's only degrees of success.
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
my company is on the verge of bankruptcy.
You have my A.C. motor designs,
It's the opposite.
Nobody will lend me money
because of your royalty deal on your patents.
The 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.
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.
Tesla gives Westinghouse control of A.C.
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 the 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.
Morgan assumes that he and Edison
are a lock to light the fair.
But Westinghouse has other plans.
He drastically underbids the project...
...claiming the 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
on spreading this technology.
People realized there was a whole electrical future coming.
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 A.C.
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.
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 J.P. 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 to create a company, but to create a new industry
and change the world in a fundamental way,
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.
J.P. Morgan has invested
millions into 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.
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 loser's locker room,
with a towel around your head.
J.P. 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 you've been played for a fool.
He realizes his father
may have been right all along.
But never willing to admit defeat...
...J.P. Morgan sees a way to turn failure into opportunity.
J.P. Morgan
made a mistake backing Thomas Edison.
I mean, they all make mistakes.
And I always say that you have to guard
against the 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.
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.
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 A.C. electricity patents.
Congratulations, Westinghouse.
I hear you won the Niagara Falls contract.
I'll be taking you to court for patent
infringement over A.C. 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...
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 A.C. 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 D.C. electricity looks like a failure.
Thomas Edison is probably
the most brilliant inventor America every had.
And like many brilliant men he was capable
of spectacularly wrong choices.
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,
and 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.
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 one billion.
With Edison out of the way,
Morgan converts the company to A.C. 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.
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 kind of massage, who it is you gotta knock on the head,
who it is you have to buy off to do this.
That's the game.
With the creation of G.E.
J.P. 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 J.P. Morgan has now made his own.
STEVE WYNN: 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.
J.P. 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.
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 magical new innovation.
Electricity is transforming the world.
And with General Electric,
J.P. 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 want to
change the world, want to have a significant impact,
don't want to just build a company.
They want to build an industry.
They don't want to just create another product or service,
they really want to fundamentally improve
aspects of people's lives.
But J.P. 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.
After a two year depression,
the U.S. Treasury has become perilously close to bankruptcy.
And there is only one man the government can turn to.
J.P. 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 really had this side of him
which just said I have faith in men,
I have faith in the country, and I am going to lend it.
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.
J.P. 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 U.S. Treasury
was an act of basic self interest,
but it was an act of nationalism.
Morgan's newfound power is a huge
wakeup call to his rivals.
They see Morgan as a threat they need to deal with.
Before he deals with them.
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.
STEVE WOZNIAK: 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 cause you think
it'll, that you'll be able to make it work...
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.
Just over 100 degrees you get a mixture of alkanes.
Sadly it can't be used for anything.
ROCKEFELLER: Why not?
ANDREWS: Too volatile.
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.
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.
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.
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.
But right when Rockefeller sees
the future of the oil industry...
WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN: No man could 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?
As the 20th century approaches.
J.P. 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 U.S. 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.
But now, J.P. 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.
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.
Carnegie and Rockefeller
begin Morganizing 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.
Conditions for workers across the country
become almost unbearable...
...as going to work for many Americans,
becomes a dangerous proposition.
STEVEN WATTS: 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 defined
as haves and have-nots, super rich, hedge fund guys,
and people just trying to pay their mortgage.
It's still nowhere near what was going on
in the old days as far as, you know,
truly abusive conditions for workers.
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 are 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?
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, 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.
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.
CARNEGIE: What do you think?
We need to buy the President.