Raskob and General Motors
Raskob was an early owner and enthusiastic user of automobiles, but more significantly, he was among the first American businessmen to understand how the automobile would change American industry and American society. He shrewdly built his personal wealth with the help of his investments in General Motors and its affiliated companies, and he was an ardent promoter of these stocks to friends and business acquaintances.
Raskob proposed that the DuPont Company invest a substantial portion of its wartime profits in General Motors. With the help of influential supporters, and a little luck, his plan was approved and DuPont made what was then the largest corporate investment in history.
Related Correspondence:
Raskob to Thomas McCoy -- discusses Raskob's first automobile purchase (August 1908)
Delaware Automobile Association to Raskob -- discusses Raskob's first of many speeding citations (May 1910)
Raskob to Henry A. Rudkin -- discusses Raskob's first GM investments (February 1914)
William Coyne to Raskob, et al. -- discusses the enforcement of a GM-only policy for employees (January 1922)
Managers Securities Company to Raskob -- Raskob's 1926 executive bonus (December 1929)
Raskob to William L. Day -- discussion of GM finances (February 1927)
H. Rodney Sharp to Raskob -- recollection of Raskob's early promotion of GM (October 1950)
Image: John J. Raskob and General Motors Executives, 1922. View image in Hagley Digital Archives