1 00:00:02,169 --> 00:00:03,752 (train whistle blowing) 2 00:00:03,838 --> 00:00:06,547 - when I was a boy, my father gave me some advice. 3 00:00:06,632 --> 00:00:10,426 He said, "son, a machine is only as good as you build it. 4 00:00:10,511 --> 00:00:12,928 "but if you really love what you're doing, 5 00:00:13,014 --> 00:00:15,347 "then you can make something spectacular." 6 00:00:16,308 --> 00:00:18,517 - well, isn't that something? 7 00:00:18,561 --> 00:00:20,269 (rhythmic industrial music) 8 00:00:20,354 --> 00:00:22,855 - [narrator] at the dawn of the 20th century, 9 00:00:22,940 --> 00:00:25,399 a new generation of titan emerges. 10 00:00:25,484 --> 00:00:27,609 - This is my father, henry ford. 11 00:00:27,695 --> 00:00:29,737 - To pierre du pont! (all cheering) 12 00:00:29,822 --> 00:00:32,072 - boeing is the future of aviation. 13 00:00:32,158 --> 00:00:34,533 - Mr. Morgan, what's happening? 14 00:00:34,618 --> 00:00:37,703 - [man] we're in the age of the machine. 15 00:00:37,788 --> 00:00:39,705 - When people leave my bank after they get a loan, 16 00:00:39,790 --> 00:00:41,373 they feel like they've got free money. 17 00:00:41,459 --> 00:00:43,417 But in reality, they're gonna pay me every month 18 00:00:43,502 --> 00:00:46,378 for the rest of their life, with interest. 19 00:00:46,422 --> 00:00:50,883 - [narrator] they'll compete to conquer new industries. 20 00:00:50,968 --> 00:00:53,052 - Well, you've dominated the car market, 21 00:00:53,137 --> 00:00:55,554 so why are you building the tallest building in the world? 22 00:00:55,639 --> 00:00:56,764 - 77 floors. 23 00:00:56,849 --> 00:00:59,099 It's absolutely exceptional. 24 00:00:59,185 --> 00:01:01,560 - So we can look down on gm. 25 00:01:01,604 --> 00:01:03,103 - I'm gonna build. 26 00:01:03,189 --> 00:01:06,398 - Top floor will be 800 feet up, same height as chrysler's. 27 00:01:06,442 --> 00:01:07,900 - Make it taller and I'm in. 28 00:01:09,737 --> 00:01:11,403 - [narrator] as they amass huge fortunes- 29 00:01:11,489 --> 00:01:12,905 - can you account for the fact 30 00:01:12,948 --> 00:01:16,075 that house of morgan has paid no taxes for years? 31 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:18,452 - [narrator] they'll become targets of the government. 32 00:01:18,537 --> 00:01:22,414 - You are quite simply a war profiteer, a merchant of death. 33 00:01:25,836 --> 00:01:29,004 - [narrator] until a new threat changes everything. 34 00:01:29,090 --> 00:01:31,423 - If there was a war, no country in europe 35 00:01:31,509 --> 00:01:34,093 would stand a chance against germany, 36 00:01:34,178 --> 00:01:35,427 and neither would america. 37 00:01:36,388 --> 00:01:37,638 - [man] what's going on? 38 00:01:37,723 --> 00:01:39,264 - There's been an attack in hawaii. 39 00:01:40,518 --> 00:01:42,267 - [narrator] now, the titans must put 40 00:01:42,353 --> 00:01:45,145 their differences aside and unite- 41 00:01:45,231 --> 00:01:47,773 - ford makes cars, not planes. 42 00:01:47,858 --> 00:01:49,983 - Nobody else can produce the scale that we need 43 00:01:50,069 --> 00:01:51,276 in the time we need it. 44 00:01:51,362 --> 00:01:53,153 - [narrator] to defeat the greatest evil 45 00:01:53,239 --> 00:01:55,280 the world has ever seen. 46 00:01:55,324 --> 00:01:57,366 - You're asking me to start producing munitions again. 47 00:01:57,451 --> 00:01:59,201 - The president is asking as well. 48 00:01:59,286 --> 00:02:00,702 (bombs exploding) 49 00:02:00,746 --> 00:02:03,288 - the same president who labeled me a merchant of death? 50 00:02:04,542 --> 00:02:06,291 - All right, let's go. 51 00:02:06,377 --> 00:02:07,793 - America is waiting. 52 00:02:07,878 --> 00:02:09,294 (rising reverent orchestral music) 53 00:02:09,380 --> 00:02:11,296 - this is gonna put us at the head of the table. 54 00:02:15,427 --> 00:02:16,301 - Let's do this. 55 00:02:19,723 --> 00:02:22,224 (explosion booming) 56 00:02:22,309 --> 00:02:25,811 - I'll do it, but we're doing this to win. 57 00:02:28,858 --> 00:02:32,484 (reverent orchestral music) 58 00:03:16,989 --> 00:03:18,238 (cork popping) 59 00:03:18,324 --> 00:03:21,533 (light big band music) 60 00:03:31,629 --> 00:03:34,046 - [narrator] it's the end of the first world war. 61 00:03:35,299 --> 00:03:38,383 The brutal fighting lasted four years 62 00:03:38,469 --> 00:03:40,886 and claimed over 20 million lives. 63 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:44,890 It also created a new titan. 64 00:03:46,936 --> 00:03:48,644 - Ladies and gentlemen, gather round! 65 00:03:48,729 --> 00:03:50,896 If I could have a moment of your time, please, 66 00:03:50,981 --> 00:03:53,190 a very brief moment, 67 00:03:53,234 --> 00:03:56,902 for a man who really needs no introduction. 68 00:03:56,987 --> 00:04:01,323 If we could all raise our glasses to pierre du pont! 69 00:04:01,408 --> 00:04:02,616 (guests cheering) 70 00:04:02,701 --> 00:04:04,993 - du pont! - Du pont! 71 00:04:05,079 --> 00:04:07,454 (ominous orchestral music) 72 00:04:07,539 --> 00:04:08,914 - [narrator] pierre du pont, 73 00:04:10,376 --> 00:04:13,418 the largest supplier of explosives in world war I. 74 00:04:19,843 --> 00:04:24,888 (soft upbeat music) (birds chirping) 75 00:04:25,432 --> 00:04:28,934 pierre du pont's childhood is anything but normal. 76 00:04:33,315 --> 00:04:37,734 In 1801, his family came to america with nothing 77 00:04:39,905 --> 00:04:42,447 but soon built up a thriving business. 78 00:04:46,996 --> 00:04:47,786 Gunpowder. 79 00:04:49,999 --> 00:04:52,958 They made their first fortune in the civil war, 80 00:04:53,043 --> 00:04:55,002 selling to the union army. 81 00:04:55,087 --> 00:04:57,462 - No, no, the sulfuric acid. 82 00:04:57,506 --> 00:04:58,380 That one. 83 00:04:58,465 --> 00:04:59,965 Yes, yes. 84 00:05:00,050 --> 00:05:03,677 - [narrator] his father is a brilliant chemist and inventor. 85 00:05:03,762 --> 00:05:07,097 Now, he's working to refine a brand new product: 86 00:05:08,559 --> 00:05:09,433 Dynamite. 87 00:05:13,647 --> 00:05:16,481 (flames crackling) 88 00:05:20,070 --> 00:05:22,279 - du pont idolizes his father. 89 00:05:24,408 --> 00:05:25,490 His father is his hero. 90 00:05:27,953 --> 00:05:29,619 He was, at an early age, 91 00:05:29,705 --> 00:05:32,080 almost like his father's apprentice. 92 00:05:32,166 --> 00:05:34,958 - Now, these elements are important to pay attention to. 93 00:05:36,628 --> 00:05:38,045 Hold that. 94 00:05:38,130 --> 00:05:39,296 Three drops in here. 95 00:05:42,718 --> 00:05:45,010 On top of the sulfuric acid. 96 00:05:46,180 --> 00:05:47,637 And from there... 97 00:05:49,475 --> 00:05:51,475 From there, I'm going to need my watch. 98 00:06:00,069 --> 00:06:03,695 (pounding percussion music) 99 00:06:09,536 --> 00:06:12,204 (watch ticking) 100 00:06:23,967 --> 00:06:26,885 (explosion booming) 101 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:39,606 (pierre panting) (somber piano music) 102 00:06:40,401 --> 00:06:42,401 - [narrator] du pont is only 14 103 00:06:42,486 --> 00:06:45,070 when his father dies in an explosion. 104 00:06:48,450 --> 00:06:50,450 And to make matters worse, 105 00:06:50,536 --> 00:06:52,953 du pont's uncles use the opportunity 106 00:06:53,038 --> 00:06:54,746 to steal the company. 107 00:06:54,832 --> 00:06:56,081 - After the death of his father, 108 00:06:56,166 --> 00:06:58,417 pierre's uncles cut him out of his birthright. 109 00:06:59,878 --> 00:07:01,753 It's a betrayal of the highest order, 110 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:03,422 and he will have his revenge. 111 00:07:06,885 --> 00:07:09,428 So, pierre goes to mit, earns a degree, 112 00:07:09,471 --> 00:07:11,596 and becomes a chemist just like his father. 113 00:07:11,682 --> 00:07:14,433 And he waits patiently, biding his time. 114 00:07:15,727 --> 00:07:17,060 He watches from the sidelines 115 00:07:17,146 --> 00:07:19,438 as his uncles run the company into the ground. 116 00:07:20,649 --> 00:07:22,190 He's then able to swoop in, 117 00:07:22,276 --> 00:07:24,317 purchase the company for pennies on the dollar, 118 00:07:24,403 --> 00:07:27,821 and wrest control, reestablishing his birthright. 119 00:07:27,906 --> 00:07:29,948 This is an indication of just how shrewd 120 00:07:30,033 --> 00:07:32,409 and ruthless pierre du pont had become. 121 00:07:34,329 --> 00:07:35,996 - [narrator] over the next two decades, 122 00:07:36,081 --> 00:07:40,959 du pont methodically buys out or forces out his competition 123 00:07:42,379 --> 00:07:45,630 until he has a monopoly in the munitions industry 124 00:07:47,217 --> 00:07:49,301 just as world war I breaks out. 125 00:07:50,387 --> 00:07:52,554 (explosion booming) 126 00:07:52,639 --> 00:07:56,057 - world war I was a war like no one had seen before. 127 00:07:56,143 --> 00:07:58,643 It mobilized the most advanced societies in europe 128 00:07:58,687 --> 00:08:00,937 and it mobilized their industrial capability. 129 00:08:02,065 --> 00:08:04,149 (gun firing) 130 00:08:04,234 --> 00:08:07,986 it was the first war to use mechanized machinery 131 00:08:08,071 --> 00:08:11,156 on a wide scale. (gun firing) 132 00:08:13,744 --> 00:08:16,661 (explosion booming) 133 00:08:18,457 --> 00:08:20,707 - [narrator] fueling the bullets and shells 134 00:08:20,792 --> 00:08:22,459 is du pont's gunpowder. 135 00:08:24,129 --> 00:08:25,003 (glass clinking) 136 00:08:25,088 --> 00:08:27,005 - du pont, during world war I, 137 00:08:27,090 --> 00:08:29,341 it was a mutually beneficial relationship 138 00:08:29,426 --> 00:08:30,926 at the end of the day. 139 00:08:31,011 --> 00:08:32,219 He saw a need, 140 00:08:32,262 --> 00:08:35,180 there was certainly a great deal of demand, 141 00:08:35,265 --> 00:08:37,766 and he had the opportunity to supply it. 142 00:08:37,851 --> 00:08:38,600 - Cheers. 143 00:08:38,685 --> 00:08:39,809 - [narrator] during the war, 144 00:08:39,895 --> 00:08:43,188 du pont's business grows more than 1,000%. 145 00:08:49,279 --> 00:08:54,032 But now, the empire he's built is suddenly obsolete. 146 00:08:57,287 --> 00:08:58,286 - Will you please excuse me? 147 00:08:58,372 --> 00:08:59,371 I have to go. 148 00:09:00,624 --> 00:09:01,373 Enjoy your- 149 00:09:01,458 --> 00:09:02,332 no, it's a pleasure. 150 00:09:05,045 --> 00:09:08,547 (somber orchestral music) 151 00:09:10,842 --> 00:09:14,594 - so, du pont, at the end of world war I, 152 00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:17,931 is astride this colossus 153 00:09:18,016 --> 00:09:23,061 that has succeeded tremendously in the war, 154 00:09:23,897 --> 00:09:27,857 and the war is over and the need for his product is gone. 155 00:09:28,819 --> 00:09:30,735 He can shut his company down 156 00:09:30,779 --> 00:09:33,446 and say, "we don't need any more munitions," 157 00:09:33,532 --> 00:09:36,074 or adapt and innovate. 158 00:09:46,336 --> 00:09:50,088 - [narrator] du pont needs to rethink his entire empire. 159 00:09:51,383 --> 00:09:52,757 - In every crisis, you wanna be able 160 00:09:52,843 --> 00:09:55,635 to be agile and resilient to keep you fighting, 161 00:09:55,721 --> 00:09:59,097 to keep on realizing that you're gonna have to make changes. 162 00:10:00,767 --> 00:10:02,559 From change, there's opportunity. 163 00:10:04,062 --> 00:10:06,938 - [narrator] du pont realizes he can capitalize 164 00:10:07,024 --> 00:10:08,607 on a new mood in america 165 00:10:10,068 --> 00:10:14,613 as the country emerges from two crises: A global war 166 00:10:16,158 --> 00:10:17,907 and a devastating pandemic. 167 00:10:21,705 --> 00:10:24,414 It will take over 50 million lives. 168 00:10:25,584 --> 00:10:28,251 - The influenza pandemic was far more deadly 169 00:10:28,337 --> 00:10:31,129 than anything we have seen in our lifetimes. 170 00:10:33,008 --> 00:10:35,425 But at the end, many people would question, 171 00:10:35,510 --> 00:10:38,887 "why shouldn't we live life now and enjoy it while we can?" 172 00:10:38,972 --> 00:10:42,349 (people cheering) 173 00:10:42,434 --> 00:10:44,309 - [narrator] for the first time in years, 174 00:10:44,394 --> 00:10:47,479 americans can finally think about the future. 175 00:10:59,409 --> 00:11:02,202 - [john] we've purchased about 25 barrels of stock. 176 00:11:02,287 --> 00:11:04,829 - [narrator] du pont's right-hand man, john raskob, 177 00:11:04,915 --> 00:11:06,998 reports on the one part of the company 178 00:11:07,084 --> 00:11:08,333 that's actually growing: 179 00:11:09,544 --> 00:11:12,253 A small division spun off from explosives 180 00:11:12,339 --> 00:11:14,506 that produces paints and lacquers. 181 00:11:14,549 --> 00:11:16,675 - [john] we're seeing an increase in demand for 182 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:18,635 pyrroline. 183 00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:20,261 - [pierre] how much are we selling? 184 00:11:20,347 --> 00:11:23,640 - 10 tons last year, but this year it could be double, sir. 185 00:11:23,684 --> 00:11:25,225 - [narrator] a synthetic compound, 186 00:11:25,310 --> 00:11:29,062 pyrroline is tough and looks like ivory, 187 00:11:29,147 --> 00:11:31,523 perfect for car dashboards. 188 00:11:33,318 --> 00:11:34,192 - 20 tons. 189 00:11:35,862 --> 00:11:36,695 For cars. 190 00:11:37,906 --> 00:11:38,947 - Yes sir. 191 00:11:39,032 --> 00:11:42,534 (pensive orchestral music) 192 00:11:48,458 --> 00:11:49,582 - we should be able to show you 193 00:11:49,668 --> 00:11:52,544 more products using a nitrous base. 194 00:11:52,629 --> 00:11:55,714 They should be ready on your next visit. 195 00:12:04,850 --> 00:12:07,934 10 tons last year, but this year it could be double. 196 00:12:08,019 --> 00:12:10,729 (car engine cranking) 197 00:12:10,814 --> 00:12:12,397 - [pierre] 20 tons. 198 00:12:13,734 --> 00:12:14,566 For cars. 199 00:12:20,907 --> 00:12:22,365 - One of the remarkable things that happened 200 00:12:22,451 --> 00:12:26,077 during this period is du pont notices 201 00:12:26,163 --> 00:12:28,788 that he's all of a sudden selling a lot of lacquer, 202 00:12:28,874 --> 00:12:30,248 selling a lot of fabric. 203 00:12:31,668 --> 00:12:33,585 You know who he's selling it to? 204 00:12:33,670 --> 00:12:34,753 Car companies. 205 00:12:36,339 --> 00:12:39,716 And so he says to himself, "I should own a car company." 206 00:12:41,428 --> 00:12:43,553 - [narrator] du pont has spent his entire life 207 00:12:43,638 --> 00:12:46,097 in the family business of munitions. 208 00:12:48,143 --> 00:12:50,602 Now, he's gonna put all of that behind him 209 00:12:53,190 --> 00:12:55,607 and go all-in on cars. 210 00:12:58,361 --> 00:13:00,653 - [narrator] there's only one problem. 211 00:13:00,739 --> 00:13:04,115 The auto industry is already dominated by another titan. 212 00:13:05,577 --> 00:13:08,912 (soft orchestral music) 213 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:10,789 henry ford. 214 00:13:12,709 --> 00:13:15,084 He's transformed the lives of millions 215 00:13:15,170 --> 00:13:16,753 with his affordable automobile. 216 00:13:18,590 --> 00:13:20,590 - Henry ford really wanted to be seen 217 00:13:20,675 --> 00:13:22,133 as a man of the people. 218 00:13:22,219 --> 00:13:26,012 After all, he made his fortune on the model t, 219 00:13:26,097 --> 00:13:28,640 which he marketed as the "people's car." 220 00:13:30,227 --> 00:13:33,978 the fact of the matter is henry ford was a revolutionary. 221 00:13:37,359 --> 00:13:40,193 - [narrator] born on a farm in 1863, 222 00:13:40,278 --> 00:13:42,654 ford grew up at a time when cars 223 00:13:42,739 --> 00:13:45,573 were nothing more than motorized buggies, 224 00:13:45,659 --> 00:13:48,284 expensive and impractical. 225 00:13:49,579 --> 00:13:51,496 He thought he could do better. 226 00:13:54,459 --> 00:13:57,377 - Ford always thought in the sense of consumerism, 227 00:13:57,462 --> 00:14:00,839 how one could sell a vehicle at its cheapest. 228 00:14:02,133 --> 00:14:03,967 You know, and sometimes populists in politics 229 00:14:04,052 --> 00:14:06,386 talked about a chicken in every pot. 230 00:14:06,471 --> 00:14:09,889 Henry ford wanted a car in every driveway. 231 00:14:11,226 --> 00:14:13,852 - [narrator] so, ford rethought how cars were made. 232 00:14:15,605 --> 00:14:17,021 - Ford had a gut feeling 233 00:14:17,065 --> 00:14:20,483 that if he could drop the price of a model t low enough, 234 00:14:20,569 --> 00:14:22,360 he could sell millions of them. 235 00:14:23,780 --> 00:14:26,614 - So, how do you produce an automobile, thousands a day? 236 00:14:26,700 --> 00:14:29,534 You have to dream the factory that can do it 237 00:14:29,619 --> 00:14:31,411 with an integrated assembly line 238 00:14:31,496 --> 00:14:35,331 that could spit one out one after the other, exactly alike. 239 00:14:36,668 --> 00:14:38,543 Nothing like this had ever been done. 240 00:14:42,799 --> 00:14:45,133 - [narrator] by 1918, half of all cars 241 00:14:45,218 --> 00:14:47,051 in america are model ts 242 00:14:48,388 --> 00:14:51,556 and ford is one of the richest people in the world. 243 00:15:01,985 --> 00:15:03,151 - Thank you, clive. 244 00:15:03,236 --> 00:15:04,944 - [narrator] now, just a few miles 245 00:15:05,030 --> 00:15:06,905 from the farm where he grew up, 246 00:15:06,990 --> 00:15:09,407 ford's building something revolutionary. 247 00:15:10,702 --> 00:15:11,784 - [henry] morning, harry. 248 00:15:11,870 --> 00:15:12,911 How's your wife? 249 00:15:12,996 --> 00:15:14,203 - Much better, thank you, sir. 250 00:15:14,289 --> 00:15:16,247 - [henry] good to hear. 251 00:15:17,584 --> 00:15:21,085 (rising suspenseful music) 252 00:15:22,589 --> 00:15:26,132 - [narrator] the biggest auto plant in the world, 253 00:15:26,217 --> 00:15:27,258 river rouge. 254 00:15:30,221 --> 00:15:33,431 It has its own blast furnaces to make his own steel, 255 00:15:35,018 --> 00:15:38,436 the world's largest forge to mold metal parts. 256 00:15:48,615 --> 00:15:50,698 - It used to be that if you were gonna build a car, 257 00:15:50,784 --> 00:15:51,950 build an anything, 258 00:15:52,035 --> 00:15:54,619 you would buy a piece from the widget-maker, 259 00:15:54,704 --> 00:15:57,747 you might have to get some fuel from over here, 260 00:15:57,791 --> 00:15:59,958 the glass is gonna come from here. 261 00:16:01,586 --> 00:16:03,962 He decided, "I'm gonna do it all myself. 262 00:16:04,881 --> 00:16:06,339 "I'm gonna have wood brought in, 263 00:16:06,424 --> 00:16:07,840 "I'm gonna have metal brought in. 264 00:16:07,926 --> 00:16:10,385 "I'm gonna put it on an assembly line. 265 00:16:10,470 --> 00:16:15,264 "but I'm gonna own all of it from beginning to end." 266 00:16:17,686 --> 00:16:19,185 - vertical integration is important 267 00:16:19,270 --> 00:16:21,312 'cause you control the pricing, 268 00:16:21,398 --> 00:16:23,481 you control when it's delivered, 269 00:16:23,566 --> 00:16:25,692 and you actually make more money 270 00:16:25,777 --> 00:16:27,819 because nobody else can get it your way 271 00:16:27,904 --> 00:16:29,487 and you can maximize your time 272 00:16:29,572 --> 00:16:31,823 and over-deliver on your promises. 273 00:16:40,166 --> 00:16:42,834 - [narrator] ford isn't just reinventing his factories, 274 00:16:44,045 --> 00:16:46,337 he's reimagining the workplace too. 275 00:16:49,801 --> 00:16:52,427 - Henry ford paid people $5 a day, 276 00:16:52,512 --> 00:16:55,388 which was considered a revolution at that time. 277 00:16:55,473 --> 00:16:58,266 He gave equal rights to african-americans. 278 00:16:58,351 --> 00:17:00,351 He gave them equal wages. 279 00:17:01,021 --> 00:17:02,520 - How we doing? 280 00:17:03,815 --> 00:17:05,982 - He was a very paternalistic figure. 281 00:17:06,067 --> 00:17:07,150 - How's it doing? 282 00:17:07,235 --> 00:17:09,235 - Here was a man who not just employed 283 00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:10,737 a tremendous number of people, 284 00:17:10,822 --> 00:17:12,488 but he made sure all these people had healthcare. 285 00:17:12,532 --> 00:17:14,824 He built a hospital just for his workers. 286 00:17:14,909 --> 00:17:16,534 These things had never been done. 287 00:17:18,913 --> 00:17:22,790 - He had a philosophy of life that he created 288 00:17:22,876 --> 00:17:27,211 that was at times inspirational and often troublesome. 289 00:17:29,382 --> 00:17:32,717 - Henry ford was a great man, but not a good man, 290 00:17:32,802 --> 00:17:36,054 and he was really a devout antisemite. 291 00:17:37,223 --> 00:17:40,516 So, we can never mistake greatness in business 292 00:17:40,602 --> 00:17:42,727 for being a great person. 293 00:17:50,111 --> 00:17:52,236 - [narrator] when river rouge fully opens, 294 00:17:52,322 --> 00:17:55,615 it will be the largest factory complex on earth. 295 00:17:56,743 --> 00:17:59,577 Who could possibly take on henry ford now? 296 00:18:04,042 --> 00:18:05,917 Only one man would dare. 297 00:18:09,380 --> 00:18:11,339 - I think a lot of titans of industry 298 00:18:11,424 --> 00:18:14,092 wanna create new mountains to climb, 299 00:18:14,177 --> 00:18:15,259 'cause it's all about winning. 300 00:18:15,345 --> 00:18:17,345 It's about, "I'm smarter than the next guy. 301 00:18:17,430 --> 00:18:19,764 "I can do it better, and why not me?" 302 00:18:21,643 --> 00:18:23,810 - [narrator] du pont risks his own fortune 303 00:18:23,895 --> 00:18:25,269 to buy a car company, 304 00:18:27,941 --> 00:18:31,859 a company he believes will one day rival ford. 305 00:18:31,945 --> 00:18:35,404 (dramatic music) 306 00:18:46,835 --> 00:18:48,459 (dramatic music) 307 00:18:54,676 --> 00:18:57,802 - [narrator] pierre du pont has just spent $50 million 308 00:18:57,887 --> 00:19:00,805 to buy a large stake in general motors, 309 00:19:02,350 --> 00:19:05,643 risking everything to try to take on henry ford. 310 00:19:07,730 --> 00:19:10,648 - It's important to remember that really what drives du pont 311 00:19:10,733 --> 00:19:14,152 is a need to control, a need to be in charge. 312 00:19:14,237 --> 00:19:16,821 He sets his sights initially on general motors, 313 00:19:16,906 --> 00:19:18,114 but one gets the impression 314 00:19:18,199 --> 00:19:19,699 that he ultimately wanted to dominate 315 00:19:19,784 --> 00:19:21,659 the entire automobile industry. 316 00:19:22,412 --> 00:19:25,496 (work bell ringing) 317 00:19:26,749 --> 00:19:28,374 - [narrator] in 1919, 318 00:19:28,459 --> 00:19:31,002 general motors is a badly-run collection 319 00:19:31,087 --> 00:19:33,087 of five car companies: 320 00:19:33,173 --> 00:19:38,176 Chevrolet, oldsmobile, oakland, cadillac, and buick. 321 00:19:42,515 --> 00:19:44,015 - General motors corporation 322 00:19:44,100 --> 00:19:47,977 was sort of a conglomerate mess of various companies 323 00:19:48,062 --> 00:19:51,022 that had been sort of put together. 324 00:19:51,107 --> 00:19:53,441 There were divisions and operations 325 00:19:53,526 --> 00:19:57,528 and plants and personalities competing with each other. 326 00:19:57,572 --> 00:19:59,530 It was not making any money. 327 00:20:02,994 --> 00:20:06,287 - [narrator] gm was founded by william durant, 328 00:20:06,372 --> 00:20:09,707 a degenerate gambler addicted to the stock market. 329 00:20:10,835 --> 00:20:13,377 (phone ringing) 330 00:20:13,463 --> 00:20:14,879 - you said they were going up. 331 00:20:16,966 --> 00:20:17,882 How much have I lost? 332 00:20:19,802 --> 00:20:20,885 Buy 10,000. 333 00:20:22,138 --> 00:20:23,888 I told you, I can pay you next week. 334 00:20:26,643 --> 00:20:28,100 - [narrator] losing millions, 335 00:20:28,186 --> 00:20:32,897 durant is forced to sell shares in gm to cover his losses. 336 00:20:33,524 --> 00:20:36,192 (phone ringing) 337 00:20:40,031 --> 00:20:41,530 - you're basically working 338 00:20:41,616 --> 00:20:44,116 with some of the best craftsmen that we have in the states. 339 00:20:44,202 --> 00:20:48,746 - General motors was struggling, but it had real potential. 340 00:20:48,831 --> 00:20:52,250 Pierre du pont saw this as a real opportunity 341 00:20:52,335 --> 00:20:54,210 to take on henry ford. 342 00:20:54,295 --> 00:20:57,713 (rising orchestral music) 343 00:21:06,432 --> 00:21:08,099 - du pont gambles on general motors 344 00:21:11,187 --> 00:21:14,105 in the hopes that he can take what durant has mismanaged 345 00:21:14,190 --> 00:21:16,482 and turn it into a model of efficiency, 346 00:21:16,567 --> 00:21:18,943 similar to what dupont corporation was. 347 00:21:22,782 --> 00:21:25,491 (wrench clicking) 348 00:21:25,576 --> 00:21:27,076 - [walter] all right, try it. 349 00:21:30,456 --> 00:21:33,332 (engine cranking) 350 00:21:33,418 --> 00:21:35,626 - [narrator] out of gm's five companies, 351 00:21:35,712 --> 00:21:39,338 the only one that's really successful is buick, 352 00:21:39,424 --> 00:21:42,466 responsible for half the profit, 353 00:21:42,510 --> 00:21:44,844 and it's because of one man. 354 00:21:44,929 --> 00:21:46,971 (car backfiring) - no, no, turn it off! 355 00:21:54,147 --> 00:21:54,937 It's not right. 356 00:21:55,940 --> 00:21:57,315 - [narrator] walter chrysler. 357 00:22:01,988 --> 00:22:04,822 (wrench clicking) 358 00:22:07,994 --> 00:22:09,535 - I think it's the timing. 359 00:22:09,620 --> 00:22:11,787 - [narrator] du pont knows that chrysler 360 00:22:11,831 --> 00:22:14,915 is the key to taking on henry ford. 361 00:22:15,001 --> 00:22:18,169 - Walter chrysler was a mechanical genius. 362 00:22:18,254 --> 00:22:20,713 At buick, chrysler reorganized 363 00:22:20,798 --> 00:22:23,132 the entire layout of the factory 364 00:22:23,217 --> 00:22:25,343 and the way work was organized. 365 00:22:29,557 --> 00:22:30,639 - [man] cleaned all the lines last night. 366 00:22:30,725 --> 00:22:32,099 - You sure; you double-checked 'em? 367 00:22:32,185 --> 00:22:33,392 - I watched them do it. 368 00:22:33,478 --> 00:22:35,353 - Chrysler never lacked confidence, 369 00:22:35,438 --> 00:22:38,147 and sometimes he came across as a bit arrogant. 370 00:22:38,191 --> 00:22:39,899 - And the coils and the cylinders? 371 00:22:39,984 --> 00:22:41,692 - [man] everything got looked at. 372 00:22:44,113 --> 00:22:46,697 (train whistle blowing) 373 00:22:46,783 --> 00:22:50,368 - [narrator] the son of a locomotive engineer, 374 00:22:50,453 --> 00:22:53,204 chrysler grew up in ellis, kansas, 375 00:22:53,247 --> 00:22:55,498 a tough railroad boom-town. 376 00:22:58,294 --> 00:23:00,878 The only way to survive was to be part of a gang. 377 00:23:04,133 --> 00:23:06,842 (boys scuffling) 378 00:23:10,014 --> 00:23:12,223 (groaning) 379 00:23:33,746 --> 00:23:36,122 the chrysler family didn't have much money, 380 00:23:36,207 --> 00:23:39,750 but young walter figured out a way to make what he wanted, 381 00:23:39,836 --> 00:23:41,252 including his own tools. 382 00:23:49,137 --> 00:23:52,138 - His father wanted him to go to college, 383 00:23:52,223 --> 00:23:56,100 but walter wanted to become a railroad mechanic. 384 00:23:58,563 --> 00:24:01,897 I think chrysler did really want to understand, 385 00:24:03,067 --> 00:24:05,609 in a hands-on way, how things worked. 386 00:24:11,075 --> 00:24:12,241 - Try it now. 387 00:24:13,119 --> 00:24:15,953 (engine cranking) 388 00:24:21,461 --> 00:24:24,128 (clock chiming) 389 00:24:25,465 --> 00:24:28,466 - [narrator] du pont summons the five company heads 390 00:24:28,551 --> 00:24:31,594 to plot his opening move against ford. 391 00:24:33,014 --> 00:24:35,931 But really, there's only one man he cares about. 392 00:24:42,273 --> 00:24:43,481 - Where is he? 393 00:24:44,567 --> 00:24:45,941 - He's supposed to be here. 394 00:24:49,155 --> 00:24:51,822 (water pouring) 395 00:25:06,088 --> 00:25:07,338 I'll go and get him. 396 00:25:09,759 --> 00:25:14,178 (rising suspenseful orchestral music) 397 00:25:28,694 --> 00:25:29,902 is he in there? 398 00:25:29,987 --> 00:25:31,278 He's supposed to be at the meeting. 399 00:25:31,364 --> 00:25:33,280 - Yes sir. - Mr. Du pont is waiting. 400 00:25:33,366 --> 00:25:34,198 - [man] okay. 401 00:25:39,830 --> 00:25:42,706 It's du pont. - Same ol' story, huh? 402 00:25:45,753 --> 00:25:47,711 - [man] sir, he's not gonna make it. 403 00:25:50,132 --> 00:25:51,215 - [man] shouldn't be an issue 404 00:25:51,300 --> 00:25:52,675 as long as we make sure we're prepared. 405 00:25:59,141 --> 00:26:00,391 - He says he's busy. 406 00:26:01,727 --> 00:26:04,395 (clock ticking) 407 00:26:12,822 --> 00:26:14,905 - when the goals of the organization 408 00:26:14,991 --> 00:26:17,616 and the goals of the people who work there are in sync, 409 00:26:17,702 --> 00:26:19,285 that's when the magic happens. 410 00:26:19,370 --> 00:26:22,705 That's when a company is just firing on all cylinders. 411 00:26:24,542 --> 00:26:27,418 And if they're not, you're gonna be upset. 412 00:26:27,461 --> 00:26:29,086 You're gonna be pissed off. 413 00:26:29,171 --> 00:26:32,089 (work bell ringing) 414 00:26:40,182 --> 00:26:42,975 - [narrator] if du pont can't control chrysler, 415 00:26:43,060 --> 00:26:46,103 how can he hope to topple henry ford, 416 00:26:46,188 --> 00:26:48,772 who continues to grow more powerful by the day, 417 00:26:50,192 --> 00:26:54,612 now selling a million model ts in just one year. 418 00:26:54,655 --> 00:26:56,739 - When you're at that level 419 00:26:56,782 --> 00:26:58,574 and you've had all of that success 420 00:26:58,659 --> 00:27:00,242 and you have all of this money, 421 00:27:02,079 --> 00:27:05,247 there's a mindset that you're almost invincible. 422 00:27:05,291 --> 00:27:07,124 You're almost your own nation-state. 423 00:27:09,170 --> 00:27:10,669 - [narrator] henry ford's success 424 00:27:10,755 --> 00:27:13,672 is built on his singular unyielding vision, 425 00:27:15,051 --> 00:27:17,968 a vision that few at the company would ever dare challenge. 426 00:27:23,768 --> 00:27:25,184 - Is he in? - Yes. 427 00:27:25,269 --> 00:27:26,310 But he's busy. 428 00:27:28,064 --> 00:27:31,315 (door opening) 429 00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:32,483 - there he is. 430 00:27:34,779 --> 00:27:35,653 Busy? 431 00:27:39,283 --> 00:27:43,494 - I hear you haven't been at work all week. 432 00:27:43,579 --> 00:27:46,455 - Come on, you know I'm working all the time. 433 00:27:51,587 --> 00:27:52,336 Dad. 434 00:27:57,593 --> 00:27:58,342 Get your coat. 435 00:28:01,389 --> 00:28:02,179 - Why? 436 00:28:03,099 --> 00:28:04,515 - I wanna take you somewhere. 437 00:28:06,602 --> 00:28:07,976 Dad, please? 438 00:28:13,317 --> 00:28:14,191 Great. 439 00:28:15,277 --> 00:28:19,196 (rising soft orchestral music) 440 00:28:32,378 --> 00:28:35,379 - edsel ford was the only child of henry ford. 441 00:28:35,423 --> 00:28:37,256 One of the things that separated the two men, 442 00:28:37,341 --> 00:28:39,383 henry and edsel, was the fact that henry 443 00:28:39,468 --> 00:28:40,592 was a self-made man. 444 00:28:40,678 --> 00:28:44,138 He came from nothing and created his fortune. 445 00:28:44,223 --> 00:28:46,348 Edsel had everything given to him. 446 00:28:50,980 --> 00:28:52,062 - Well, what is it? 447 00:28:52,940 --> 00:28:53,856 - This? - Mm. 448 00:28:54,984 --> 00:28:57,735 - It's a novel, "age of innocence." 449 00:28:59,196 --> 00:29:00,237 I think you'd like it. 450 00:29:04,160 --> 00:29:05,909 - So, for edsel, think of this: 451 00:29:05,995 --> 00:29:07,244 On his 21st birthday, 452 00:29:07,329 --> 00:29:10,247 he was a child who was given $1 million in gold. 453 00:29:12,001 --> 00:29:13,751 - "age of innocence." 454 00:29:18,215 --> 00:29:21,842 - when you have children, you hope and you pray 455 00:29:21,927 --> 00:29:23,302 that they want to take on 456 00:29:23,387 --> 00:29:25,596 and appreciate everything that you've given them, 457 00:29:25,681 --> 00:29:28,807 but most of the children won't wanna take on the business 458 00:29:28,893 --> 00:29:30,768 and they may want their own identity. 459 00:29:35,149 --> 00:29:36,940 They say the first generation makes it, 460 00:29:37,026 --> 00:29:39,401 the second enjoys it, and the third destroys it. 461 00:29:42,406 --> 00:29:43,447 - What is this place? 462 00:29:45,534 --> 00:29:46,784 - Trust me. 463 00:29:46,869 --> 00:29:47,618 You'll see. 464 00:29:53,584 --> 00:29:54,917 Just about here. 465 00:29:59,215 --> 00:30:01,173 - Well, what are we doing here? 466 00:30:01,258 --> 00:30:02,299 - Just wait. 467 00:30:09,558 --> 00:30:10,974 - For what? - Wait. 468 00:30:17,233 --> 00:30:20,484 (plane engine roaring) 469 00:30:23,489 --> 00:30:25,239 well... 470 00:30:25,324 --> 00:30:26,824 What do you think? 471 00:30:28,786 --> 00:30:30,160 We should get into this! 472 00:30:30,246 --> 00:30:32,412 - We don't know anything about it. 473 00:30:32,498 --> 00:30:33,997 - [edsel] I do. 474 00:30:34,083 --> 00:30:35,332 - No, you don't. 475 00:30:44,718 --> 00:30:46,051 (reverent orchestral music) 476 00:30:46,095 --> 00:30:47,344 - [narrator] for edsel, the pressure of being a ford 477 00:30:47,429 --> 00:30:48,971 is immense. 478 00:30:49,056 --> 00:30:52,307 He believes the only way to earn his father's respect 479 00:30:52,351 --> 00:30:54,309 is to build something of his own. 480 00:30:57,439 --> 00:30:58,647 - Like all kids his age, 481 00:30:58,732 --> 00:31:00,524 edsel was obsessed with the wright brothers. 482 00:31:00,609 --> 00:31:02,526 He was obsessed with the idea 483 00:31:02,570 --> 00:31:04,945 that humans could take flight using machinery. 484 00:31:06,031 --> 00:31:07,531 I think, from a very young age, 485 00:31:07,575 --> 00:31:10,534 edsel had this idea that he could do for airplanes 486 00:31:10,578 --> 00:31:12,911 what his father had done for motorcars, 487 00:31:12,997 --> 00:31:14,204 and that was his destiny. 488 00:31:18,168 --> 00:31:19,585 - [narrator] though it's been almost 20 years 489 00:31:19,670 --> 00:31:23,213 since the wright brothers took flight at kitty hawk, 490 00:31:23,299 --> 00:31:25,716 planes remain novelties. 491 00:31:28,012 --> 00:31:31,847 - At that time, flying, for the public, it was a curiosity. 492 00:31:31,932 --> 00:31:33,599 They would go out to fields 493 00:31:33,684 --> 00:31:35,183 when an airplane came through town, 494 00:31:35,269 --> 00:31:36,560 and what they were watching 495 00:31:36,645 --> 00:31:39,062 was to see if the airplane would crash. 496 00:31:39,106 --> 00:31:42,274 And this really emphasizes the state of flying at that time. 497 00:31:42,359 --> 00:31:43,692 It wasn't safe. 498 00:31:44,653 --> 00:31:47,362 (dramatic music) 499 00:31:48,616 --> 00:31:50,908 - [narrator] henry ford has no interest 500 00:31:50,993 --> 00:31:53,452 in aviation as a business. 501 00:31:53,537 --> 00:31:56,580 - Nothing supplanted the automobile for ford. 502 00:31:56,624 --> 00:31:58,081 The car in the driveway's 503 00:31:58,167 --> 00:32:00,834 where henry ford's eyeballs always were. 504 00:32:02,379 --> 00:32:06,048 - [narrator] he agrees to give edsel money to build a plane, 505 00:32:06,091 --> 00:32:10,093 but for one reason: To teach him the benefits of hard work. 506 00:32:11,472 --> 00:32:14,306 - Henry ford was the quintessential self-made man 507 00:32:14,391 --> 00:32:19,227 and he always saw his son as a creature of privilege, 508 00:32:20,356 --> 00:32:22,439 that he didn't have grease on his hands, 509 00:32:22,524 --> 00:32:26,318 that he was a white-collar man, not a blue-collar one, 510 00:32:26,403 --> 00:32:28,946 and this annoyed henry ford about his son. 511 00:32:29,031 --> 00:32:33,033 (suspenseful orchestral music) 512 00:32:34,161 --> 00:32:35,953 - pass me a pencil. 513 00:32:36,038 --> 00:32:39,623 - [narrator] but edsel sees aviation as an opportunity 514 00:32:39,667 --> 00:32:41,583 to usher his father's company forward. 515 00:32:41,669 --> 00:32:43,085 - That could actually work. 516 00:32:45,005 --> 00:32:47,839 - I think edsel ford saw the promise of aviation 517 00:32:47,925 --> 00:32:49,341 before most people did. 518 00:32:49,426 --> 00:32:51,510 He thought this could be a real business. 519 00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:54,471 - [narrator] now, after months of development, 520 00:32:54,556 --> 00:32:57,391 edsel is ready to show the results to his father. 521 00:32:58,602 --> 00:33:01,603 If he succeeds, he'll prove once and for all 522 00:33:01,647 --> 00:33:04,106 he's worthy of the ford name. 523 00:33:04,149 --> 00:33:05,273 - I think we're on it. 524 00:33:10,155 --> 00:33:11,947 - We're ready. - Great. 525 00:33:14,827 --> 00:33:15,993 So, in good conditions, 526 00:33:16,078 --> 00:33:18,161 we're looking at a range of, what, 400 miles? 527 00:33:18,205 --> 00:33:20,122 - Yeah, something like that. - Good. 528 00:33:24,378 --> 00:33:26,336 Okay, let's give him a show. 529 00:33:30,884 --> 00:33:31,675 - Ready. 530 00:33:35,556 --> 00:33:36,471 - Thanks for coming. 531 00:33:36,557 --> 00:33:38,181 - Well, we got a good day for it. 532 00:33:47,443 --> 00:33:50,777 (plane engine cranking) 533 00:33:52,614 --> 00:33:56,116 (plane engine sputtering) 534 00:34:20,768 --> 00:34:23,810 (explosion booming) 535 00:34:26,565 --> 00:34:29,733 (edsel sighing) 536 00:34:29,818 --> 00:34:31,693 - we just dropped in a new engine. 537 00:34:31,737 --> 00:34:33,236 It's got twice the horsepower, 538 00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:36,073 but we haven't had a chance to fire her up yet. 539 00:34:37,284 --> 00:34:38,241 I'm sure once we dig in there we can- 540 00:34:38,327 --> 00:34:40,077 - it's okay. 541 00:34:40,162 --> 00:34:42,370 Just keep at it. 542 00:34:43,832 --> 00:34:46,541 First models, they always have a few kinks. 543 00:34:49,463 --> 00:34:52,089 - You would know, right? (henry chuckling) 544 00:34:52,174 --> 00:34:53,215 - that I do. 545 00:34:56,595 --> 00:35:00,055 (sullen orchestral music) 546 00:35:10,400 --> 00:35:11,733 what a disaster. 547 00:35:18,367 --> 00:35:19,282 - [narrator] while edsel ford 548 00:35:19,368 --> 00:35:21,660 struggles to impress his father, 549 00:35:21,745 --> 00:35:25,288 pierre du pont has his own issues at general motors, 550 00:35:26,500 --> 00:35:30,460 with one in particular: Walter chrysler. 551 00:35:32,172 --> 00:35:35,632 - One of the qualities of pierre du pont, 552 00:35:35,676 --> 00:35:37,592 in addition to being a leader himself, 553 00:35:37,636 --> 00:35:39,553 was spotting talent in others. 554 00:35:40,681 --> 00:35:44,724 He thought walter chrysler was a genius. 555 00:35:46,353 --> 00:35:50,147 But walter chrysler did not fit in personally 556 00:35:50,190 --> 00:35:52,649 to the mold of a general motors very well. 557 00:35:54,111 --> 00:35:57,154 - [narrator] du pont wants everything done his way 558 00:35:57,239 --> 00:36:00,323 and he expects chrysler to fall in line. 559 00:36:00,409 --> 00:36:04,077 (rising suspenseful music) 560 00:36:06,915 --> 00:36:10,208 (phone ringing) 561 00:36:10,294 --> 00:36:11,960 - [mellody] walter chrysler is so fascinating 562 00:36:12,004 --> 00:36:13,170 in so many ways. 563 00:36:14,882 --> 00:36:16,506 - I understand that. 564 00:36:16,592 --> 00:36:19,676 - His foundation was just doing the work. 565 00:36:19,720 --> 00:36:21,052 - No, I understand. 566 00:36:22,139 --> 00:36:24,181 - [mellody] and he wanted it to be his way. 567 00:36:24,266 --> 00:36:25,682 - Yeah, okay, mr. Du pont. 568 00:36:25,767 --> 00:36:28,810 - He was very clear that he didn't like to be managed. 569 00:36:28,896 --> 00:36:30,645 - No, you have to listen to me. 570 00:36:30,731 --> 00:36:33,481 You have to listen to me and listen clearly, all right? 571 00:36:35,235 --> 00:36:37,527 - [narrator] chrysler detests all the paperwork 572 00:36:37,571 --> 00:36:41,573 du pont requires and refuses to attend meetings. 573 00:36:41,658 --> 00:36:44,326 (clock chiming) 574 00:36:55,380 --> 00:36:57,005 - why do you have to be so difficult? 575 00:36:57,049 --> 00:36:58,715 - Is this about du pont? 576 00:36:58,759 --> 00:37:00,675 - Mr. Du pont is here to help us. 577 00:37:01,762 --> 00:37:03,970 - Is that so? - We need his money. 578 00:37:06,767 --> 00:37:10,685 (suspenseful orchestral music) 579 00:37:16,944 --> 00:37:19,569 can you just do what he wants? 580 00:37:23,784 --> 00:37:25,200 - [walter] all right, I'll fill out the forms 581 00:37:25,285 --> 00:37:26,910 and I'll go to his damn meetings. 582 00:37:29,790 --> 00:37:30,830 - Thank you, walter. 583 00:37:44,680 --> 00:37:47,472 - So, there's this great passage in chrysler's autobiography 584 00:37:47,557 --> 00:37:49,599 where he talks about walking into a room, 585 00:37:50,644 --> 00:37:52,185 and there is his boss, durant. 586 00:37:53,313 --> 00:37:54,646 And here's pierre du pont. 587 00:37:54,731 --> 00:37:56,398 - I'm trying to run a business here. 588 00:37:56,483 --> 00:37:57,899 Do you understand me, bill? 589 00:37:57,985 --> 00:38:00,151 - And he realizes in that moment that what he's witnessing 590 00:38:00,237 --> 00:38:03,113 is napoleon at the beginning of conquest. 591 00:38:03,156 --> 00:38:05,448 And perhaps it's time to go. 592 00:38:07,035 --> 00:38:09,286 - Chrysler finally figured out 593 00:38:09,329 --> 00:38:11,955 that he could never work productively 594 00:38:11,999 --> 00:38:14,124 with pierre du pont and billy durant. 595 00:38:16,878 --> 00:38:19,421 Walter chrysler was highly paid at general motors, 596 00:38:19,506 --> 00:38:21,298 not just in terms of salary, 597 00:38:21,341 --> 00:38:24,592 but he was given stock, a lot of stock. 598 00:38:27,764 --> 00:38:28,805 - Durant, hold up. 599 00:38:30,517 --> 00:38:31,725 Bill. 600 00:38:31,768 --> 00:38:34,769 - Walter, can't this wait until the morning? 601 00:38:36,189 --> 00:38:37,647 - No. 602 00:38:37,691 --> 00:38:38,565 It can't. 603 00:38:42,404 --> 00:38:43,236 I'm quitting. 604 00:38:46,908 --> 00:38:49,075 It's not you, it's du pont. 605 00:38:50,454 --> 00:38:53,163 - Look, why don't you just take some time, think about this. 606 00:38:53,206 --> 00:38:55,623 - No, no, I've thought about it plenty. 607 00:38:58,587 --> 00:39:02,005 Listen, I'm sorry to have to say this to you, 608 00:39:02,049 --> 00:39:05,258 but you're gonna have to buy all my shares. 609 00:39:07,137 --> 00:39:09,012 - And why would I do that? 610 00:39:09,097 --> 00:39:11,348 - Because if you don't, I'm gonna sell all my shares 611 00:39:11,391 --> 00:39:13,641 on the stock market and bankrupt the company. 612 00:39:19,691 --> 00:39:21,858 - Durant was afraid if chrysler 613 00:39:21,902 --> 00:39:23,860 dumped all of his stock on the market, 614 00:39:23,945 --> 00:39:26,863 if it was known that chrysler was the person selling it, 615 00:39:26,907 --> 00:39:29,366 he's an insider, people would say, 616 00:39:29,451 --> 00:39:31,409 "uh-oh, something is wrong at general motors. 617 00:39:31,495 --> 00:39:33,161 "we better get rid of our stock." 618 00:39:36,750 --> 00:39:39,376 - [narrator] afraid the company's stock will plummet, 619 00:39:39,461 --> 00:39:42,003 durant purchases chrysler's shares 620 00:39:43,757 --> 00:39:47,175 and chrysler walks away with a $10-million buyout, 621 00:39:52,724 --> 00:39:55,850 the equivalent of $200 million today. 622 00:39:57,020 --> 00:40:00,397 - Du pont must have seen chrysler's defection 623 00:40:00,482 --> 00:40:05,026 from general motors as more than just a business move. 624 00:40:06,279 --> 00:40:07,904 It's a personal affront. 625 00:40:15,956 --> 00:40:16,996 (engine roars) 626 00:40:17,082 --> 00:40:18,915 - [narrator] with chrysler's exit from gm, 627 00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:22,752 dupont is forced to find a new strategy to take on ford. 628 00:40:24,965 --> 00:40:28,716 He's devised a plan that's going to require money, 629 00:40:29,678 --> 00:40:31,428 lots of money. 630 00:40:31,513 --> 00:40:36,057 (classic orchestral music continues) 631 00:40:36,977 --> 00:40:42,230 hundreds of millions even he can't bankroll that much. 632 00:40:48,697 --> 00:40:51,114 - He asked me to bring you to see him right away. 633 00:40:54,161 --> 00:40:54,951 This way, sir. 634 00:41:00,584 --> 00:41:02,292 Good day for it, pull. 635 00:41:03,587 --> 00:41:06,296 (gunshots fired) 636 00:41:07,716 --> 00:41:10,425 hahaha, well nothing like it. 637 00:41:10,469 --> 00:41:11,468 - Nice shooting, sir. 638 00:41:16,349 --> 00:41:19,434 - [narrator] jp morgan junior is one of the richest men 639 00:41:19,478 --> 00:41:23,771 in the world and one of the most powerful. 640 00:41:25,901 --> 00:41:26,774 - Pull! 641 00:41:28,653 --> 00:41:31,070 (gunshot fires) 642 00:41:31,156 --> 00:41:32,655 - good shot sir. 643 00:41:32,741 --> 00:41:35,658 - Takes practice, my father taught me when I was a child. 644 00:41:38,038 --> 00:41:40,663 - [narrator] morgan's father was the notorious ruthless 645 00:41:40,749 --> 00:41:44,292 banker j. Pierpont morgan sr. 646 00:41:45,754 --> 00:41:49,297 After his father's financing ushered in the electric age 647 00:41:49,382 --> 00:41:53,259 and helped create the world's first billion dollar company, 648 00:41:53,345 --> 00:41:58,139 u.S. Steel, junior inherited a fortune like no other. 649 00:41:58,225 --> 00:42:00,016 - His father pierpont was a legend. 650 00:42:00,101 --> 00:42:02,852 The founder of jp morgan, big personality, 651 00:42:02,896 --> 00:42:05,730 a big person obviously knew everyone around the world. 652 00:42:06,900 --> 00:42:09,192 - Morgan lived with the incredible responsibility 653 00:42:09,277 --> 00:42:11,236 of living up to his father's legacy. 654 00:42:11,321 --> 00:42:14,822 This kind of all encompassing shadow that jp morgan senior 655 00:42:14,908 --> 00:42:17,825 cast on jp morgan junior. 656 00:42:17,911 --> 00:42:19,035 - [narrator] morgan has money, 657 00:42:19,079 --> 00:42:19,702 - pull! 658 00:42:19,746 --> 00:42:22,413 Power and enemies. 659 00:42:22,499 --> 00:42:24,541 He once survived an assassination attempt 660 00:42:24,626 --> 00:42:28,044 by wrestling the gunman to the ground. 661 00:42:28,088 --> 00:42:29,879 - He was in some ways the most powerful capitalist 662 00:42:29,965 --> 00:42:31,506 in the united states so if you wanted to bring down 663 00:42:31,591 --> 00:42:34,551 capitalism, you would go after him. 664 00:42:34,636 --> 00:42:37,178 And I think he was trying to live up to not only 665 00:42:37,222 --> 00:42:38,846 the reputation of his father, 666 00:42:40,267 --> 00:42:42,225 but trying to show that he could out do his father. 667 00:42:44,312 --> 00:42:47,689 - [morgan] so general motors, you want to expand. 668 00:42:48,608 --> 00:42:50,233 - With your will help, yes. 669 00:42:50,277 --> 00:42:53,319 - I've had my team look at it, it's not going to be easy. 670 00:42:53,405 --> 00:42:56,030 Why don't you wait a year, get the company in shape? 671 00:42:56,116 --> 00:42:59,200 - I can't wait, ford is destroying us. 672 00:43:01,454 --> 00:43:02,203 - I see. 673 00:43:03,623 --> 00:43:06,749 - [narrator] to morgan, dupont and gm are minor players. 674 00:43:07,836 --> 00:43:09,794 If he was to get into cars, 675 00:43:09,879 --> 00:43:14,048 he would do it with ford, but he's already tried. 676 00:43:15,343 --> 00:43:20,305 - 1916, jp morgan tries to convince henry ford to go public 677 00:43:20,682 --> 00:43:23,725 and ford balks at this idea. 678 00:43:23,810 --> 00:43:25,810 Jp morgan's interest in this is obvious. 679 00:43:25,895 --> 00:43:28,438 He wants a piece of ford, he wants the rich profits 680 00:43:28,481 --> 00:43:31,274 that can come as a result of the public offering. 681 00:43:31,318 --> 00:43:34,444 Henry ford notoriously hated bankers. 682 00:43:34,487 --> 00:43:36,404 He felt they didn't build anything. 683 00:43:36,489 --> 00:43:40,617 And so at this point, jp morgan jr. Appears to just be 684 00:43:40,702 --> 00:43:43,119 like a rich kid playing with his father's money. 685 00:43:46,750 --> 00:43:49,000 - [narrator] henry ford told jp morgan, 686 00:43:49,085 --> 00:43:51,127 you are not your father. 687 00:43:51,212 --> 00:43:53,796 It's an insulted that morgan will never forget. 688 00:43:55,342 --> 00:43:57,008 - And for a guy like morgan 689 00:43:57,093 --> 00:44:01,638 where money is no object, to be scorned by henry ford 690 00:44:01,681 --> 00:44:05,308 simply becomes a motivation to get revenge on henry ford 691 00:44:05,352 --> 00:44:08,269 and he will have his revenge through the dupont. 692 00:44:09,981 --> 00:44:11,814 - How much do you need? 693 00:44:13,902 --> 00:44:16,361 - [narrator] dupont gets his financing. 694 00:44:16,446 --> 00:44:20,156 Hundreds of millions in loans and investments 695 00:44:20,200 --> 00:44:24,327 and he uses it to enact a brand new strategy. 696 00:44:24,412 --> 00:44:26,120 Under pierre dupont's leadership 697 00:44:26,206 --> 00:44:27,997 general motors was expanding quickly, 698 00:44:28,083 --> 00:44:29,707 taking on new lines of credit 699 00:44:29,793 --> 00:44:32,335 in order to expand production facilities, 700 00:44:32,379 --> 00:44:34,504 also to buy other divisions 701 00:44:34,589 --> 00:44:38,383 and bring all of these into the general motors fold. 702 00:44:39,803 --> 00:44:43,346 - [narrator] dupont realizes that the car market is changing 703 00:44:43,431 --> 00:44:46,849 and he is reinventing gm to capitalize on it. 704 00:44:48,395 --> 00:44:51,020 - In the 1920s, people had money in their pockets 705 00:44:51,064 --> 00:44:52,855 and there was sort of a deficit of consumer 706 00:44:52,941 --> 00:44:54,899 items that they hadn't been able to buy during the war. 707 00:44:54,984 --> 00:44:56,526 So they go on a spending spree. 708 00:44:59,072 --> 00:45:01,864 - By the 1920s, the model t was old. 709 00:45:03,326 --> 00:45:06,369 It wasn't exciting, it was reliable, it was cheap, 710 00:45:06,454 --> 00:45:09,664 but people wanted more than just a utilitarian vehicle. 711 00:45:10,959 --> 00:45:13,918 - [narrator] taking advantage of gm's many companies, 712 00:45:14,003 --> 00:45:15,962 dupont offers customers 713 00:45:16,047 --> 00:45:18,548 something ford has never given them. 714 00:45:19,467 --> 00:45:20,758 Choice. 715 00:45:20,844 --> 00:45:22,552 - General motors was brilliant in their branding. 716 00:45:22,637 --> 00:45:23,720 Started with a chevrolet 717 00:45:23,805 --> 00:45:25,388 which was the entry level car 718 00:45:25,473 --> 00:45:27,014 and that was for a certain price point 719 00:45:27,100 --> 00:45:28,599 then you grow up and you have a family 720 00:45:28,685 --> 00:45:29,892 and you get your oldsmobile. 721 00:45:29,936 --> 00:45:32,103 Now you're starting to get that first promotion 722 00:45:32,188 --> 00:45:33,146 at work, what do you get? 723 00:45:33,231 --> 00:45:34,397 You get a buick. 724 00:45:34,441 --> 00:45:36,524 And the ultimate aspiration that they set up 725 00:45:36,609 --> 00:45:38,025 was a cadillac. 726 00:45:38,111 --> 00:45:40,069 I mean, even today, we use the term, the cadillac of, 727 00:45:40,113 --> 00:45:41,904 and that's when you made it. 728 00:45:43,324 --> 00:45:45,616 - [narrator] dupont's strategy is a perfect match 729 00:45:45,702 --> 00:45:48,453 for this era of rising prosperity 730 00:45:48,538 --> 00:45:50,580 and rising expectations. 731 00:45:53,209 --> 00:45:56,586 It's really the birth of the modern consumer culture. 732 00:45:58,131 --> 00:46:00,965 People started wanting choice, automobiles 733 00:46:01,050 --> 00:46:04,552 and clothes and things started getting mass-produced 734 00:46:04,637 --> 00:46:07,972 and all these companies started fulfilling fantasies 735 00:46:08,057 --> 00:46:13,102 and needs, the roaring twenties, we'd call it, the jazz age. 736 00:46:13,521 --> 00:46:17,774 - [narrator] by the end of 1921, gm is a major competitor 737 00:46:17,817 --> 00:46:18,775 in the auto world. 738 00:46:20,069 --> 00:46:22,779 Dupont is ready to take down the ford. 739 00:46:25,825 --> 00:46:28,075 But what dupont doesn't know 740 00:46:28,119 --> 00:46:30,119 is there's a target on his back too. 741 00:46:32,707 --> 00:46:35,082 Walter chrysler has his own company now 742 00:46:36,711 --> 00:46:39,045 and he's about the join the fight. 743 00:46:39,130 --> 00:46:41,130 (dramatic music) 744 00:46:48,264 --> 00:46:51,098 (engines roar) 745 00:47:01,694 --> 00:47:04,987 - [narrator] car racing has become the most popular sport 746 00:47:05,073 --> 00:47:06,781 in america. 747 00:47:06,866 --> 00:47:09,450 And the public becomes fascinated with speed. 748 00:47:12,497 --> 00:47:15,164 Three years after walking out on pierre dupont 749 00:47:15,208 --> 00:47:16,999 and general motors, 750 00:47:17,043 --> 00:47:20,336 chrysler is now running his own car company 751 00:47:20,421 --> 00:47:23,381 and is searching for the next big thing. 752 00:47:23,466 --> 00:47:25,341 - [announcer] coming up in the lead, the henry hudson 753 00:47:25,426 --> 00:47:27,051 is closing the gap. 754 00:47:27,136 --> 00:47:29,011 (crowd cheers) 755 00:47:29,097 --> 00:47:34,141 what a race, top speed over 70 miles and hour. 756 00:47:44,070 --> 00:47:46,487 (door slams) 757 00:47:48,241 --> 00:47:49,031 - hey guys. 758 00:47:51,035 --> 00:47:54,036 - [narrator] walter chrysler knows what america wants. 759 00:48:03,298 --> 00:48:06,716 Chrysler intends to build the first mass-produced 760 00:48:06,759 --> 00:48:09,844 automobile that drives like a race car. 761 00:48:11,180 --> 00:48:13,055 - I think that chrysler thought 762 00:48:13,141 --> 00:48:15,850 in his mind that there was a demand. 763 00:48:15,935 --> 00:48:18,269 There was nothing on the market to appeal 764 00:48:18,354 --> 00:48:21,689 to middle-class buyers who wanted something better 765 00:48:21,733 --> 00:48:24,275 than a ford and wanted speed. 766 00:48:24,360 --> 00:48:26,569 - We gotta get this to 70 miles per hour. 767 00:48:27,947 --> 00:48:30,239 The problem is how to get that extra little bit. 768 00:48:30,325 --> 00:48:32,909 - Then we'll need a bigger engine, that means a bigger car. 769 00:48:32,994 --> 00:48:36,245 - No, I want the same size engine, 770 00:48:36,289 --> 00:48:41,250 I just want it to go faster. 771 00:48:50,428 --> 00:48:55,431 - The idea that walter chrysler would walk away 772 00:48:56,809 --> 00:48:59,602 from gm to on his own against the might of ford 773 00:48:59,646 --> 00:49:03,773 and general motors, it was both shocking and daring 774 00:49:03,858 --> 00:49:07,610 and also very walter chrysler. 775 00:49:14,744 --> 00:49:16,077 - Hand me the 3/8ths. 776 00:49:16,162 --> 00:49:18,746 - [narrator] chrysler invests millions into his car 777 00:49:18,831 --> 00:49:21,958 betting everything on a new type of engine. 778 00:49:22,001 --> 00:49:25,127 One he hopes will give him the speed he desires. 779 00:49:25,213 --> 00:49:27,755 - Last thing I want to do is burn out that clutch. 780 00:49:29,842 --> 00:49:30,633 Come on. 781 00:49:33,596 --> 00:49:35,054 Get that right. 782 00:49:35,139 --> 00:49:37,306 - [narrator] up till now, powerful engines 783 00:49:37,350 --> 00:49:38,683 were big and heavy. 784 00:49:38,768 --> 00:49:43,270 - I got that diameter on that correct so, it's 44. 785 00:49:43,356 --> 00:49:46,357 - [narrator] chrysler is trying something totally different. 786 00:49:46,442 --> 00:49:48,484 He's designed a smaller engine. 787 00:49:49,737 --> 00:49:52,196 - Okay, let's do this. 788 00:49:52,281 --> 00:49:55,157 - [narrator] that squeezes more power out of each cylinder. 789 00:49:57,620 --> 00:49:58,953 - Full throttle. 790 00:50:01,541 --> 00:50:04,417 - [narrator] the first high compression motor. 791 00:50:04,502 --> 00:50:07,128 (engine whirs) 792 00:50:10,883 --> 00:50:12,633 made for one thing, 793 00:50:13,219 --> 00:50:14,677 speed. 794 00:50:18,891 --> 00:50:21,851 (car engine roars) 795 00:50:32,238 --> 00:50:36,157 - cars like the model t ford could only do 35. 796 00:50:36,200 --> 00:50:40,202 Even cars like the buick might get up to 50 miles an hour. 797 00:50:44,083 --> 00:50:46,375 This car could do 70 miles an hour. 798 00:50:46,419 --> 00:50:48,669 And probably the chrysler could actually do a little more 799 00:50:48,755 --> 00:50:50,212 than 70 miles per hour. 800 00:50:54,594 --> 00:50:57,720 And it blew the socks off most of the competition. 801 00:50:59,474 --> 00:51:01,390 - [narrator] chrysler has gambled everything 802 00:51:01,434 --> 00:51:04,894 on his new car but what he doesn't know 803 00:51:04,979 --> 00:51:06,520 is whether people will buy it. 804 00:51:07,607 --> 00:51:09,190 (glass dings) 805 00:51:09,275 --> 00:51:10,357 - ladies and gentlemen, 806 00:51:10,443 --> 00:51:12,359 if I could have your attention please. 807 00:51:13,988 --> 00:51:16,530 - You know, to be a great entrepreneur, 808 00:51:16,616 --> 00:51:17,698 you have to be a bit of a gambler. 809 00:51:17,742 --> 00:51:18,866 You have to be a bit of a risk taker. 810 00:51:18,951 --> 00:51:20,910 You have to be a professional optimist. 811 00:51:29,962 --> 00:51:31,587 - The chrysler 70. 812 00:51:31,672 --> 00:51:34,799 (crowd talks over each other) 813 00:51:34,884 --> 00:51:37,301 - you have to believe in yourself and you have to believe 814 00:51:37,386 --> 00:51:40,888 in the idea that you're going to change the world. 815 00:51:45,937 --> 00:51:47,770 - [narrator] the car is soon known worldwide 816 00:51:47,855 --> 00:51:50,231 as the chrysler 70 is hailed 817 00:51:50,316 --> 00:51:53,901 as the most technologically advanced car of its time. 818 00:51:55,363 --> 00:51:57,947 Even its name points to its groundbreaking speed. 819 00:51:58,783 --> 00:52:00,449 70 miles an hour. 820 00:52:04,288 --> 00:52:06,455 - Chrysler's first car did capture the spirit 821 00:52:06,541 --> 00:52:09,625 of the roaring twenties in that it was flamboyant, 822 00:52:09,669 --> 00:52:12,253 it was aggressive, people who owned it 823 00:52:12,296 --> 00:52:14,463 could say, look at me. 824 00:52:14,549 --> 00:52:16,257 When you were driving a model t, 825 00:52:16,300 --> 00:52:18,634 you've never said, look at me. 826 00:52:18,678 --> 00:52:21,470 - Every great entrepreneur can tell you multiple stories 827 00:52:21,514 --> 00:52:24,640 about any number of people who called them crazy 828 00:52:24,725 --> 00:52:27,143 and told them that their product would never work. 829 00:52:28,688 --> 00:52:31,814 But the crazier the idea, the greater the upside. 830 00:52:46,789 --> 00:52:50,207 - Initially dupont doesn't see chrysler as a threat. 831 00:52:50,293 --> 00:52:53,043 He's rankled by the fact that chrysler's left the company 832 00:52:53,129 --> 00:52:55,212 but he doesn't think that chrysler is going 833 00:52:55,298 --> 00:52:56,297 to be able to compete. 834 00:53:02,555 --> 00:53:04,722 When the chrysler 70 comes out, it becomes clear 835 00:53:04,807 --> 00:53:09,268 that chrysler is in the game and in the game to win. 836 00:53:09,353 --> 00:53:12,354 (dramatic music) 837 00:53:22,575 --> 00:53:26,368 (dramatic music) 838 00:53:26,412 --> 00:53:28,245 - [narrator] three months after chrysler turned 839 00:53:28,331 --> 00:53:32,166 the automotive world upside down, another young innovator 840 00:53:32,251 --> 00:53:35,044 is looking to do the same in aviation. 841 00:53:37,256 --> 00:53:40,549 Edsel ford wants the ford company to build planes 842 00:53:40,593 --> 00:53:43,052 and after a failed demonstration, 843 00:53:43,137 --> 00:53:44,762 he's more determined than ever 844 00:53:44,847 --> 00:53:47,723 to show his dad he can succeed. 845 00:53:47,808 --> 00:53:50,517 - Henry ford was a difficult father. 846 00:53:50,561 --> 00:53:55,064 He was a stern taskmaster, he didn't suffer fools lightly. 847 00:53:55,149 --> 00:53:59,360 And he put a lot of stress on edsel to be an achiever. 848 00:54:03,449 --> 00:54:06,116 - [narrator] edsel keeps pushing his team. 849 00:54:06,202 --> 00:54:08,744 - This is too big, you gotta make this... 850 00:54:11,457 --> 00:54:12,164 You know what? 851 00:54:12,250 --> 00:54:13,749 That could actually work. 852 00:54:13,793 --> 00:54:17,962 - [narrator] and in April of 1924, the hard work pays off. 853 00:54:18,047 --> 00:54:21,382 (airplane engine roars) 854 00:54:23,970 --> 00:54:27,054 (triumphant music) 855 00:54:41,028 --> 00:54:42,903 - [edsel] I think this is it. 856 00:54:42,947 --> 00:54:45,864 - Well, it's a solid piece of work. 857 00:54:45,950 --> 00:54:46,782 - There's a but. 858 00:54:48,911 --> 00:54:49,952 - Where's the market? 859 00:54:59,672 --> 00:55:02,464 - [narrator] while he's pleased with his son's effort, 860 00:55:02,508 --> 00:55:04,967 in the end, henry ford is left feeling 861 00:55:05,011 --> 00:55:07,469 he spent a fortune for nothing. 862 00:55:08,681 --> 00:55:10,764 There's no way to make money with planes 863 00:55:11,684 --> 00:55:13,267 but that's about to change. 864 00:55:17,481 --> 00:55:20,149 The answer will come from an unlikely place, 865 00:55:21,569 --> 00:55:22,776 the post office. 866 00:55:24,030 --> 00:55:26,280 Since the days of the pony express, 867 00:55:26,365 --> 00:55:28,991 the government has looked for ways to speed up 868 00:55:29,035 --> 00:55:33,996 mail delivery, first with stagecoaches and then trains. 869 00:55:35,207 --> 00:55:38,167 Now they look to the skies with airplanes. 870 00:55:40,046 --> 00:55:43,005 - There was an immediacy of life in the 1920s 871 00:55:43,049 --> 00:55:44,882 that hadn't existed before. 872 00:55:44,967 --> 00:55:46,633 You could speak via telephone 873 00:55:46,719 --> 00:55:48,260 to your friend who lives two states over. 874 00:55:48,346 --> 00:55:51,013 If you wanted to hear something that was happening 875 00:55:51,057 --> 00:55:52,139 in another part of the country, 876 00:55:52,183 --> 00:55:53,849 now you could listen on the radio. 877 00:55:53,934 --> 00:55:56,685 You can get used to this, expectations change with time, 878 00:55:58,147 --> 00:55:59,980 - the whole notion of air mail, 879 00:56:00,066 --> 00:56:02,524 it's about speed of communication. 880 00:56:02,610 --> 00:56:03,984 I mean everything gets better 881 00:56:04,028 --> 00:56:06,362 when you can communicate faster. 882 00:56:07,907 --> 00:56:11,158 And I think air was perfectly suited to do it. 883 00:56:15,581 --> 00:56:17,289 - [narrator] the post office sees airmail 884 00:56:17,375 --> 00:56:20,876 as its future and they decide to outsource the job. 885 00:56:23,381 --> 00:56:25,631 - In 1925, the airmail act comes out 886 00:56:25,716 --> 00:56:29,051 and this is the government deciding, the post office 887 00:56:29,095 --> 00:56:32,679 deciding to hand over flying airmail routes 888 00:56:32,765 --> 00:56:34,223 to private individuals. 889 00:56:39,480 --> 00:56:42,564 - If we get these contracts to go out. 890 00:56:42,608 --> 00:56:45,359 Mark my words the airmail business will flourish. 891 00:56:47,279 --> 00:56:50,072 - [narrator] as word of the airmail act gets out 892 00:56:50,116 --> 00:56:53,575 one man recognizes this could be a gold rush. 893 00:56:55,454 --> 00:56:56,578 - We should get into this. 894 00:56:56,664 --> 00:56:58,122 - Where's the money? 895 00:56:58,207 --> 00:57:01,250 Mark my words, the airmail business will flourish. 896 00:57:04,713 --> 00:57:07,714 - [narrator] ford knows he needs to act fast to scoop 897 00:57:07,800 --> 00:57:11,927 up the air mail contracts before anyone else. 898 00:57:17,560 --> 00:57:20,936 Ford spends millions to roll out a fleet of planes 899 00:57:23,482 --> 00:57:27,609 and clears 240 acres near his river rouge plant 900 00:57:27,695 --> 00:57:31,155 to build a whole new kind of transportation hub. 901 00:57:31,240 --> 00:57:34,116 - The fords were the first to lay the first concrete runway 902 00:57:34,201 --> 00:57:36,577 and they're creating the modern airport. 903 00:57:38,372 --> 00:57:40,080 - [narrator] it's all to show the government 904 00:57:40,166 --> 00:57:42,958 that ford aviation is ready to fly. 905 00:57:46,422 --> 00:57:48,130 - You can't be an entrepreneur and build a business 906 00:57:48,215 --> 00:57:50,632 without taking risk. 907 00:57:50,718 --> 00:57:53,135 Taking risk is absolutely a critical part 908 00:57:53,220 --> 00:57:55,304 of building a business, especially one that's 909 00:57:55,389 --> 00:57:57,473 been untested beore. 910 00:57:59,852 --> 00:58:01,935 - [narrator] henry's bet pays off. 911 00:58:02,021 --> 00:58:05,481 Ford aviation wins a major airmail contract. 912 00:58:07,401 --> 00:58:10,360 - Henry ford was one of the few people who saw potential 913 00:58:10,446 --> 00:58:11,862 in airmail. 914 00:58:11,947 --> 00:58:14,948 When airmail first began, the post office is paying 915 00:58:15,034 --> 00:58:19,328 three dollars a pound and there were 800,000 pounds of mail 916 00:58:19,371 --> 00:58:20,787 being shipped in the united states. 917 00:58:20,873 --> 00:58:24,791 By 1929, that number had increased to 8 million pounds. 918 00:58:24,835 --> 00:58:26,335 So you can see there's a tremendous 919 00:58:26,420 --> 00:58:27,794 potential there for profit. 920 00:58:29,215 --> 00:58:31,840 - [narrator] soon edsel's planes are flying mail across 921 00:58:31,926 --> 00:58:36,345 the country and ford aviation is raking in the profits. 922 00:58:42,228 --> 00:58:44,895 But what edsel and henry don't know 923 00:58:44,980 --> 00:58:48,148 is that another would be titan is gunning for them. 924 00:58:49,360 --> 00:58:52,528 A small airplane manufacturer out west, headed 925 00:58:52,613 --> 00:58:57,324 by a man who's determined to claim aviation for himself. 926 00:58:58,869 --> 00:59:00,160 William boeing. 927 00:59:07,086 --> 00:59:08,126 (thunder cracks) 928 00:59:08,212 --> 00:59:10,379 (rain patters) 929 00:59:13,592 --> 00:59:15,092 - how's it looking? 930 00:59:15,177 --> 00:59:17,553 - [narrator] a small airplane company is aiming to challenge 931 00:59:17,596 --> 00:59:22,266 ford aviation and win control of the airmail business. 932 00:59:22,351 --> 00:59:24,685 It was founded by a man who got his start 933 00:59:24,770 --> 00:59:26,228 in the timber industry. 934 00:59:26,313 --> 00:59:27,980 - We need this absolutely perfect. Okay? 935 00:59:28,065 --> 00:59:30,399 William boeing. 936 00:59:30,442 --> 00:59:34,570 - The big bang moment for bill boeing was in 1910. 937 00:59:46,584 --> 00:59:49,585 He saw his first airplane and he fell in love. 938 00:59:52,006 --> 00:59:55,924 He was a man who was fascinated with technology. 939 00:59:56,010 --> 00:59:57,843 He loved cars, he loved boats 940 00:59:57,928 --> 01:00:00,762 and when he saw the airplane, he had to fly. 941 01:00:04,643 --> 01:00:06,393 - William boeing and edsel ford both 942 01:00:06,437 --> 01:00:08,937 saw great potential in aviation. 943 01:00:08,981 --> 01:00:11,064 But the difference between them was that william boeing 944 01:00:11,108 --> 01:00:14,276 was a pilot so he had a natural feel 945 01:00:14,320 --> 01:00:16,903 for aviation in a way that edsel ford did not. 946 01:00:24,913 --> 01:00:27,581 (machine whirs) 947 01:00:33,172 --> 01:00:35,797 - canvas might be too heavy. 948 01:00:35,883 --> 01:00:36,923 - We could try silk. 949 01:00:38,052 --> 01:00:38,925 - Yeah. 950 01:00:42,222 --> 01:00:43,597 - When he started his company 951 01:00:43,682 --> 01:00:46,850 he realized he needed an aerodynamicist. 952 01:00:46,935 --> 01:00:48,644 This was a new field of science 953 01:00:48,687 --> 01:00:51,188 and only one place was producing aerodynamicist 954 01:00:51,273 --> 01:00:52,648 and that was mit. 955 01:00:52,691 --> 01:00:56,109 Mit said, mr. Boeing, we have a young chinese national 956 01:00:56,195 --> 01:00:57,444 whose name is wong tsu. 957 01:00:59,448 --> 01:01:02,115 Boeing said send him, I want him. 958 01:01:03,369 --> 01:01:04,826 - I think we're going to shift of these numbers. 959 01:01:04,912 --> 01:01:07,329 - Yeah, let's try a 38 here. 960 01:01:08,832 --> 01:01:11,375 - [narrator] boeing experimented with new materials 961 01:01:11,460 --> 01:01:14,211 to build lighter and stronger airplanes. 962 01:01:15,631 --> 01:01:18,674 - William boeing was not only a pilot, he was an innovator. 963 01:01:18,759 --> 01:01:19,841 He was an inventor. 964 01:01:19,885 --> 01:01:22,010 His goal was always to build 965 01:01:22,096 --> 01:01:24,805 the best possible airplane in the world. 966 01:01:29,103 --> 01:01:31,687 - [narrator] but despite all of boeing's big ideas, 967 01:01:33,273 --> 01:01:38,360 his company is about to go bankrupt because at this time, 968 01:01:38,445 --> 01:01:42,656 the only way to make money is with an airmail contract 969 01:01:42,700 --> 01:01:46,159 and ford has them all locked up. 970 01:01:46,245 --> 01:01:48,995 - [jeremy] in the 1920s, boeing as a small manufacturer 971 01:01:49,039 --> 01:01:50,664 selling an airplane here or there. 972 01:01:50,749 --> 01:01:53,417 Ford is a goliath in american industry 973 01:01:53,502 --> 01:01:55,377 getting into the aviation business. 974 01:01:55,421 --> 01:01:57,921 - No, I told you we needed those parts this Friday. 975 01:01:58,006 --> 01:01:59,548 - Boeing is struggling. 976 01:01:59,591 --> 01:02:02,008 - Just get them over here as fast as you can, thank you. 977 01:02:04,388 --> 01:02:07,180 - [narrator] to survive, boeing's company must somehow 978 01:02:07,266 --> 01:02:09,391 land and airmail contract. 979 01:02:10,602 --> 01:02:13,061 He decides his only chance is to build 980 01:02:13,105 --> 01:02:15,063 the best plane in the world. 981 01:02:16,942 --> 01:02:19,234 He just needs to figure out how to do it. 982 01:02:22,698 --> 01:02:25,240 (metal clangs) 983 01:02:28,203 --> 01:02:30,370 - [jeremy] with boeing, one of his great attributes 984 01:02:30,414 --> 01:02:31,872 is he's a man of vision. 985 01:02:33,000 --> 01:02:34,541 - [man] we're gonna need some more water for it. 986 01:02:34,626 --> 01:02:36,251 - [boy] how much you need? 987 01:02:36,295 --> 01:02:38,420 - Four gallons if you could. 988 01:02:38,464 --> 01:02:40,172 - One of the secrets he has 989 01:02:40,257 --> 01:02:43,592 to making this a success is a new innovative engine. 990 01:02:47,973 --> 01:02:50,599 He genuinely sees something 991 01:02:50,684 --> 01:02:52,434 that is going to change the world. 992 01:02:59,401 --> 01:03:01,651 - Gentlemen, I'm very glad I could be here 993 01:03:01,737 --> 01:03:04,613 and I'm very excited to tell you about boeing's new plane. 994 01:03:04,656 --> 01:03:07,616 The model 48 is the first plane 995 01:03:07,701 --> 01:03:10,243 specially designed to carry airmail. 996 01:03:10,329 --> 01:03:12,329 It has a welded steel frame and closed compartments 997 01:03:12,414 --> 01:03:15,791 for the mail and a very special type of engine, 998 01:03:17,336 --> 01:03:18,543 it's air-cooled. 999 01:03:18,587 --> 01:03:20,629 - Up until now, the engines that are flying 1000 01:03:20,672 --> 01:03:22,255 on mail planes are water-cooled 1001 01:03:22,341 --> 01:03:24,132 so just like in your car, 1002 01:03:24,218 --> 01:03:26,802 it has a radiator with all of the water. 1003 01:03:26,887 --> 01:03:29,054 - You made those changes to the engine like I told you? 1004 01:03:29,139 --> 01:03:30,263 - Yes. 1005 01:03:30,349 --> 01:03:32,265 - That's 200 pounds on these airplanes. 1006 01:03:32,309 --> 01:03:35,435 So without that 200 pounds taking it away, 1007 01:03:35,521 --> 01:03:38,647 that's 200 pounds of mail, that's profit. 1008 01:03:38,732 --> 01:03:41,316 - Well, this air-cooled engine is more reliable. 1009 01:03:41,360 --> 01:03:46,154 It allows the plane to go faster and it doesn't need water. 1010 01:03:48,826 --> 01:03:52,285 Why carry water, when you can carry more mail? 1011 01:03:52,371 --> 01:03:54,329 - Do you have your fleet ready to go now? 1012 01:03:59,586 --> 01:04:00,460 - Of course. 1013 01:04:05,342 --> 01:04:09,427 - Boeing wins this contract in January and by July. 1014 01:04:09,513 --> 01:04:14,474 He's supposed to be flying the mail, 26 model 40s. 1015 01:04:16,228 --> 01:04:18,144 These airplanes haven't been built yet. 1016 01:04:20,274 --> 01:04:22,482 - What do you know about a radial engine? 1017 01:04:22,568 --> 01:04:25,819 - Knowing bill boeing and his character, 1018 01:04:25,904 --> 01:04:27,737 failure was not an option. 1019 01:04:27,823 --> 01:04:28,864 - Change this section. 1020 01:04:28,949 --> 01:04:30,532 - It's one of the hardest things to do, 1021 01:04:30,617 --> 01:04:32,409 increase rates of production. 1022 01:04:32,494 --> 01:04:34,327 - [boeing] I need this to be perfect, okay? Perfect. 1023 01:04:34,413 --> 01:04:38,123 - And so for bill boeing to go from zero to 26 1024 01:04:38,208 --> 01:04:39,207 in six months, 1025 01:04:39,293 --> 01:04:40,208 - yeah, it's boeing. 1026 01:04:40,294 --> 01:04:42,711 It's almost hard for us even today 1027 01:04:42,796 --> 01:04:45,046 to even comprehend. 1028 01:04:45,132 --> 01:04:46,590 - [narrator] boeing steals a page 1029 01:04:46,675 --> 01:04:49,342 from ford's assembly line idea. 1030 01:04:49,428 --> 01:04:53,179 - He quickly assembled a team of literally everyone he knew 1031 01:04:53,223 --> 01:04:58,226 and built all 26 model 40a's at once. 1032 01:04:58,854 --> 01:05:01,187 - He had the metal workers building the fuselage, 1033 01:05:01,273 --> 01:05:03,690 the woodworkers, putting the wings together 1034 01:05:03,734 --> 01:05:06,026 and the seamstresses putting on the fabric. 1035 01:05:06,069 --> 01:05:08,194 So it's a team effort. 1036 01:05:08,238 --> 01:05:10,238 - We've all pulled all nighters. 1037 01:05:10,324 --> 01:05:12,949 This was an all-nighter that lasted six months. 1038 01:05:14,328 --> 01:05:17,412 - That simple fact that he could mass produce that quickly, 1039 01:05:17,456 --> 01:05:20,206 really propelled the industry forward. 1040 01:05:22,961 --> 01:05:25,211 - [narrator] boeing's fleet is ready. 1041 01:05:25,297 --> 01:05:27,547 - Thank you for being here today. 1042 01:05:27,591 --> 01:05:31,927 - [narrator] he manages to build all 26 planes just in time. 1043 01:05:32,012 --> 01:05:34,387 - My wife shall do the honors. 1044 01:05:34,473 --> 01:05:36,097 - [narrator] it's a huge victory. 1045 01:05:42,189 --> 01:05:43,188 (glass shatters) 1046 01:05:43,273 --> 01:05:44,773 (crowd cheers) 1047 01:05:44,816 --> 01:05:48,735 boeing's routes are worth nearly $5 million a year 1048 01:05:48,779 --> 01:05:50,946 which is over 75 million today 1049 01:05:52,157 --> 01:05:55,116 and now ford has some real competition. 1050 01:06:06,588 --> 01:06:10,256 - [narrator] by 1926, automobile ownership in america 1051 01:06:10,342 --> 01:06:12,634 is at an all time high. 1052 01:06:12,678 --> 01:06:14,844 20 million cars are on the road 1053 01:06:16,181 --> 01:06:19,641 but dupont's gm with its multiple brands has been eating 1054 01:06:19,726 --> 01:06:22,143 away at ford's lead. 1055 01:06:22,229 --> 01:06:25,772 Gm now sells a quarter of the cars in the country. 1056 01:06:26,900 --> 01:06:30,151 Henry ford decides it's time to hit back. 1057 01:06:31,405 --> 01:06:32,862 - Ford really only has one arrow 1058 01:06:32,948 --> 01:06:34,948 in the quiver to stave off his competitors 1059 01:06:34,992 --> 01:06:36,825 and that is to lower his prices. 1060 01:06:36,910 --> 01:06:40,328 Whenever a competitor gets close, ford lowers the price. 1061 01:06:43,166 --> 01:06:45,166 And ultimately he sticks with this strategy 1062 01:06:45,210 --> 01:06:46,960 because it proves quite successful. 1063 01:06:51,216 --> 01:06:54,050 - [narrator] ford slashes prices of his model t 1064 01:06:55,387 --> 01:07:00,682 to under $300, the equivalent of about $6,000 today. 1065 01:07:16,241 --> 01:07:17,824 - Good to see you. 1066 01:07:19,619 --> 01:07:22,328 - Try the steak, I don't know what they season 1067 01:07:22,414 --> 01:07:24,039 it with but it's cooked to perfection. 1068 01:07:24,124 --> 01:07:25,665 - No, I'm not hungry for it. 1069 01:07:25,709 --> 01:07:27,709 - No? 1070 01:07:31,423 --> 01:07:32,338 - It's ford. 1071 01:07:39,723 --> 01:07:42,390 - No one believes they can beat ford on price 1072 01:07:42,434 --> 01:07:44,017 but that's the only way to win. 1073 01:07:44,061 --> 01:07:45,685 - We've tried every way possible 1074 01:07:45,771 --> 01:07:48,521 but he's just got economies of scale we can't have. 1075 01:07:48,565 --> 01:07:50,398 - No, no, you need to give away the cars. 1076 01:07:50,484 --> 01:07:52,025 No one can compete with free. 1077 01:07:54,529 --> 01:07:56,071 - I must be missing your point. 1078 01:07:57,449 --> 01:07:58,740 - You need to do what I do. 1079 01:08:00,285 --> 01:08:03,078 See when people leave my bank after I give them a loan, 1080 01:08:03,121 --> 01:08:05,747 they feel like they've got free money, 1081 01:08:05,791 --> 01:08:07,582 like they've somehow beaten the system. 1082 01:08:09,044 --> 01:08:12,337 But in reality, they're going to pay me every month 1083 01:08:12,422 --> 01:08:14,464 for the rest of their life with interest. 1084 01:08:14,549 --> 01:08:17,092 - For you, a free car, it's just the bait. 1085 01:08:18,553 --> 01:08:19,594 The loan is the hook. 1086 01:08:28,021 --> 01:08:30,605 - [narrator] for years, dupont's general motors 1087 01:08:30,690 --> 01:08:33,441 has been trying to beat ford. 1088 01:08:33,527 --> 01:08:36,736 Now they make a game-changing decision. 1089 01:08:38,240 --> 01:08:40,782 If americans want the car of their dreams, 1090 01:08:42,494 --> 01:08:45,578 general motors will lend them the money to buy it. 1091 01:08:49,376 --> 01:08:52,168 - General motors through the creation of gmac, 1092 01:08:52,254 --> 01:08:55,255 the general motors acceptance corporation offered financing. 1093 01:08:56,758 --> 01:08:59,968 - You could buy a ford and you could pay for that car today. 1094 01:09:00,011 --> 01:09:02,470 Or you can buy general motors and you could pay for it 1095 01:09:02,556 --> 01:09:05,473 over two years or three years or four years with credit. 1096 01:09:07,018 --> 01:09:07,809 Wow. 1097 01:09:08,979 --> 01:09:10,645 - [narrator] with backing from morgan, 1098 01:09:10,689 --> 01:09:13,815 gm goes all in on car loans 1099 01:09:15,110 --> 01:09:17,527 and it's a huge success. 1100 01:09:18,697 --> 01:09:22,490 - General motors is creating the modern corporation. 1101 01:09:22,576 --> 01:09:25,326 People could show up with whatever they had and buy a car 1102 01:09:25,370 --> 01:09:27,829 and pay it off in installments. 1103 01:09:29,583 --> 01:09:30,665 - It was so right for the roaring twenties, where 1104 01:09:30,709 --> 01:09:32,125 everything was ahead of us. 1105 01:09:34,045 --> 01:09:37,297 The new america was more about what was in front of you. 1106 01:09:38,717 --> 01:09:40,842 - [narrator] the age of easy money is born. 1107 01:09:44,389 --> 01:09:45,847 - Easy money means basically 1108 01:09:45,891 --> 01:09:49,392 that you can go to a bank and say, I want a lot of money 1109 01:09:49,477 --> 01:09:51,686 and instead of them saying, are you out of your mind? 1110 01:09:51,730 --> 01:09:54,230 You don't deserve any credit, they say sure. 1111 01:09:55,400 --> 01:09:57,734 - The 1920s, it was the really the first time 1112 01:09:57,819 --> 01:10:02,030 that joe on street was getting loans, literally loans 1113 01:10:02,073 --> 01:10:04,240 to buy all sorts of stuff. 1114 01:10:05,493 --> 01:10:08,703 - [narrator] radios, refrigerators and even new homes 1115 01:10:08,788 --> 01:10:10,371 are suddenly within reach. 1116 01:10:11,541 --> 01:10:12,874 - You know, you could go buy a house 1117 01:10:12,959 --> 01:10:16,002 with no money down, no documentation, no income. 1118 01:10:16,046 --> 01:10:18,338 A bank will give you a loan, so easy money. 1119 01:10:18,423 --> 01:10:19,839 It's not just about interest rates. 1120 01:10:19,925 --> 01:10:22,175 It's about very lax terms. 1121 01:10:23,970 --> 01:10:26,262 - By extending credit, general motors finds a way 1122 01:10:26,348 --> 01:10:29,557 to make the automobile attainable without necessarily 1123 01:10:29,643 --> 01:10:31,476 making it affordable. 1124 01:10:31,561 --> 01:10:33,186 It allows people not only to purchase one car 1125 01:10:33,230 --> 01:10:34,729 but perhaps even two. 1126 01:10:34,814 --> 01:10:38,024 That was a brilliant stroke on the part of dupont. 1127 01:10:40,487 --> 01:10:43,738 - [narrator] by 1927, just six years since dupont 1128 01:10:43,782 --> 01:10:46,407 and morgan joined forces, they've achieved 1129 01:10:46,451 --> 01:10:49,202 what many considered impossible. 1130 01:10:49,829 --> 01:10:53,289 They've dethroned the king of cars, henry ford. 1131 01:10:54,459 --> 01:10:58,586 General motors is the number one automaker in america. 1132 01:11:07,347 --> 01:11:08,930 (suspenseful music) 1133 01:11:11,601 --> 01:11:14,769 - [narrator] by 1927, ford faces challenges, 1134 01:11:14,854 --> 01:11:17,105 not just on the ground, but in the air. 1135 01:11:19,150 --> 01:11:20,441 - So when can you send them over? 1136 01:11:20,527 --> 01:11:21,943 - [narrator] to capture more contracts, 1137 01:11:22,028 --> 01:11:24,654 william boeing continues to grow his fleet 1138 01:11:24,739 --> 01:11:27,448 of superior mail planes. 1139 01:11:27,534 --> 01:11:29,409 - 24.9, that looks good. 1140 01:11:30,745 --> 01:11:34,872 - The success of the model 40a, indicates that emergence 1141 01:11:34,958 --> 01:11:37,292 of boeing as the company that we know it today. 1142 01:11:40,213 --> 01:11:43,840 - [narrator] soon, boeing achieves the unthinkable, 1143 01:11:43,925 --> 01:11:45,967 a near monopoly on airmail. 1144 01:11:48,888 --> 01:11:50,972 It's a massive win over ford. 1145 01:11:52,892 --> 01:11:55,810 (atmospheric music) 1146 01:12:01,401 --> 01:12:04,777 edsel ford knows if he doesn't do something fast, 1147 01:12:04,863 --> 01:12:08,323 his entire aviation business will go under. 1148 01:12:11,953 --> 01:12:14,495 (car honking) 1149 01:12:36,269 --> 01:12:39,187 (suspenseful music) 1150 01:12:53,787 --> 01:12:56,537 (engine revving) 1151 01:13:07,133 --> 01:13:10,718 (door thuds) 1152 01:13:11,888 --> 01:13:15,390 (drawer creaks) 1153 01:13:15,475 --> 01:13:18,393 (suspenseful music continues) 1154 01:13:18,478 --> 01:13:20,311 - edsel ford was thinking about, 1155 01:13:20,397 --> 01:13:23,564 what are the possibilities for aviation as a business? 1156 01:13:25,777 --> 01:13:28,569 How can the airplane make american life better? 1157 01:13:42,836 --> 01:13:46,754 (suspenseful music progresses) 1158 01:13:48,967 --> 01:13:50,550 - [narrator] edsel believes that the future 1159 01:13:50,635 --> 01:13:53,094 of aviation is not transporting mail, 1160 01:13:55,223 --> 01:13:56,597 it's transporting people. 1161 01:14:01,187 --> 01:14:03,104 - Today, we take it for granted that we can get 1162 01:14:03,148 --> 01:14:04,772 from new york city to los angeles 1163 01:14:04,858 --> 01:14:07,275 in a matter of hours by plane. 1164 01:14:07,318 --> 01:14:08,818 And in the 1920s, 1165 01:14:08,903 --> 01:14:12,113 it took five days by train, to make that same trip. 1166 01:14:12,198 --> 01:14:15,491 So, aviation really had the potential to 1167 01:14:15,577 --> 01:14:19,620 revolutionize passenger travel in the united states. 1168 01:14:19,706 --> 01:14:22,206 (intense violin crescendoing) 1169 01:14:22,292 --> 01:14:25,460 - hey, here's what I'm thinking for the new model. 1170 01:14:27,297 --> 01:14:29,672 First side of the plane... 1171 01:14:29,757 --> 01:14:31,299 - [narrator] over the next several months, 1172 01:14:31,342 --> 01:14:33,801 edsel and his team designed the first 1173 01:14:33,887 --> 01:14:37,138 modern passenger plane, the trimotor. 1174 01:14:39,017 --> 01:14:41,851 - Nothing like the ford trimotor had been seen before. 1175 01:14:41,936 --> 01:14:45,188 It was an all metal airplane carrying 12 passengers, 1176 01:14:45,273 --> 01:14:47,982 it had three air-cooled engines, it had one wing, 1177 01:14:48,067 --> 01:14:51,152 and the pilots flew inside a cabin, not outside. 1178 01:14:52,489 --> 01:14:55,156 This was futuristic when it came into being 1179 01:14:55,200 --> 01:14:55,990 in the mid 1920s. 1180 01:14:58,244 --> 01:15:00,786 - I think the trimotor was edsel's dream come true, 1181 01:15:02,165 --> 01:15:04,373 that proved that flight could occur safely. 1182 01:15:04,459 --> 01:15:05,958 And that by using three engines 1183 01:15:06,002 --> 01:15:08,044 on an airplane, it solved a lot of problems, 1184 01:15:08,129 --> 01:15:09,670 because if one of the engines failed, 1185 01:15:09,756 --> 01:15:12,298 the pilot could use the other two to land safely. 1186 01:15:14,260 --> 01:15:17,345 - [narrator] but building a passenger plane won't be enough. 1187 01:15:17,430 --> 01:15:20,431 Edsel needs to get people to fly in it. 1188 01:15:20,517 --> 01:15:23,351 - So even as air mail is becoming increasingly common 1189 01:15:23,436 --> 01:15:26,187 throughout the 1920s, there was still a huge reluctance 1190 01:15:26,272 --> 01:15:27,647 in the american public to fly, 1191 01:15:27,732 --> 01:15:29,857 because people were afraid of flying, 1192 01:15:29,943 --> 01:15:31,359 they believed it wasn't safe. 1193 01:15:33,613 --> 01:15:35,571 - [narrator] edsel's dream is doomed, 1194 01:15:35,657 --> 01:15:38,866 unless the public overcomes its fear of flying. 1195 01:15:40,078 --> 01:15:43,454 And it turns out, just 500 miles to the east, 1196 01:15:43,540 --> 01:15:48,668 one daring pilot is about to change people's minds, forever. 1197 01:15:49,504 --> 01:15:52,004 (bird cawing) 1198 01:15:57,512 --> 01:16:01,222 - in the mid 1920s, there was a great competition, 1199 01:16:01,307 --> 01:16:05,351 to be the first to make the first trans-atlantic flight 1200 01:16:05,436 --> 01:16:07,019 from new york to paris. 1201 01:16:11,192 --> 01:16:14,735 This young, unknown, penniless practically, 1202 01:16:14,821 --> 01:16:18,698 former airmail pilot from minnesota 1203 01:16:18,741 --> 01:16:21,075 was about the most unlikely person 1204 01:16:21,160 --> 01:16:23,744 to fly across the atlantic, that you can think of. 1205 01:16:25,164 --> 01:16:27,915 - [narrator] six pilots have already died trying, 1206 01:16:28,001 --> 01:16:30,418 and most think this new pilot will be the seventh. 1207 01:16:31,671 --> 01:16:34,255 His name is charles lindbergh. 1208 01:16:34,340 --> 01:16:37,258 (airplane engine sputtering) 1209 01:16:49,355 --> 01:16:52,440 - [narrator] 33 hours later, he achieves the unthinkable. 1210 01:16:56,321 --> 01:17:00,239 Touching down in paris, where he's mobbed by thousands. 1211 01:17:02,452 --> 01:17:05,286 (triumphant music) 1212 01:17:07,707 --> 01:17:10,458 - his flight, just captured the imagination of the world. 1213 01:17:10,501 --> 01:17:13,628 Not just americans, not just the french, everybody. 1214 01:17:15,131 --> 01:17:17,757 He was much more than a movie star today 1215 01:17:17,842 --> 01:17:19,467 or a sports figure today. 1216 01:17:22,889 --> 01:17:24,388 - [narrator] at the age of 25, 1217 01:17:24,474 --> 01:17:28,142 charles lindbergh becomes the most famous man in the world. 1218 01:17:31,814 --> 01:17:33,147 (crowds cheering) 1219 01:17:33,232 --> 01:17:34,523 - [reporter] lindy starts a tour across the nation. 1220 01:17:34,609 --> 01:17:38,527 He's acclaimed, adored in city after city. 1221 01:17:38,613 --> 01:17:41,489 And wherever he turns he hears his name. 1222 01:17:41,574 --> 01:17:42,657 (cheering) 1223 01:17:42,700 --> 01:17:45,701 the fame, the glory, all are his. 1224 01:17:45,787 --> 01:17:48,663 The world has found the perfect hero. 1225 01:17:48,748 --> 01:17:50,122 And at this moment, the future looms 1226 01:17:50,208 --> 01:17:52,166 ahead of him, bright and shiny. 1227 01:17:52,251 --> 01:17:55,336 (radio switching off) 1228 01:17:57,590 --> 01:17:59,882 - [narrator] edsel ford may have just found 1229 01:17:59,967 --> 01:18:01,676 the solution to his problem. 1230 01:18:10,561 --> 01:18:13,020 (dramatic music) 1231 01:18:22,615 --> 01:18:25,533 - I thought you said he was coming. 1232 01:18:29,163 --> 01:18:30,037 - He is. 1233 01:18:31,582 --> 01:18:32,373 Look. 1234 01:18:37,839 --> 01:18:41,090 - Three months after lucky lindy shocked the world 1235 01:18:41,175 --> 01:18:44,760 by completing this first solo transatlantic flight, 1236 01:18:45,930 --> 01:18:48,097 he comes flying in on the spirit of st. Louis, 1237 01:18:48,182 --> 01:18:49,724 to meet with henry and edsel. 1238 01:18:51,644 --> 01:18:53,561 - Charles, it's good to see you. 1239 01:18:54,897 --> 01:18:55,938 This is my father, henry. 1240 01:18:56,023 --> 01:18:56,856 - Mr. Lindbergh. 1241 01:18:59,318 --> 01:19:02,403 - This was extraordinary moment in american history. 1242 01:19:02,488 --> 01:19:05,281 Two of the most famous, most successful men in the world, 1243 01:19:05,366 --> 01:19:07,158 henry ford and lindbergh. 1244 01:19:07,243 --> 01:19:09,410 Both had rather complicated political views 1245 01:19:09,454 --> 01:19:10,661 that they shared. 1246 01:19:10,747 --> 01:19:12,913 But at the time, they were both modern heroes 1247 01:19:12,999 --> 01:19:17,251 and embodied this idea that mankind could harness power. 1248 01:19:17,295 --> 01:19:20,004 - How many seats are you planning on putting in a row? 1249 01:19:20,089 --> 01:19:20,921 - It's a good question. 1250 01:19:20,965 --> 01:19:22,590 So, originally we had four. 1251 01:19:22,675 --> 01:19:24,925 - [narrator] together, the fords and lindbergh 1252 01:19:25,011 --> 01:19:27,595 form a partnership that will transform 1253 01:19:27,680 --> 01:19:29,096 the aviation industry. 1254 01:19:31,392 --> 01:19:34,477 Using ford's planes, and lindbergh's name, 1255 01:19:34,562 --> 01:19:36,562 a new airline is formed. 1256 01:19:38,858 --> 01:19:40,649 Offering coast to coast travel, 1257 01:19:40,735 --> 01:19:43,611 la to new york, in just 48 hours. 1258 01:19:46,908 --> 01:19:49,492 Edsel knows that lindbergh is the key 1259 01:19:49,577 --> 01:19:51,952 to convincing the public to fly. 1260 01:19:53,206 --> 01:19:55,790 - They used lindbergh as a celebrity endorsement 1261 01:19:55,875 --> 01:19:58,292 and it was brilliant marketing by ford, 1262 01:19:58,377 --> 01:20:00,461 the american public trusted charles lindbergh, 1263 01:20:00,546 --> 01:20:01,879 it really helped them believe 1264 01:20:01,964 --> 01:20:04,715 that flying on ford trimotors across country 1265 01:20:04,801 --> 01:20:07,802 was something safe and something that they wanted to do. 1266 01:20:09,305 --> 01:20:10,971 - [narrator] lindbergh's influence on the airline 1267 01:20:11,057 --> 01:20:14,809 is so complete, that it becomes known as lindy's line. 1268 01:20:16,020 --> 01:20:19,814 Years later, it will get another name, twa. 1269 01:20:21,818 --> 01:20:26,821 By 1928, nearly 200,000 passengers will fly on planes. 1270 01:20:29,325 --> 01:20:33,160 Edsel's dream of an aviation business has finally come true. 1271 01:20:34,413 --> 01:20:37,164 And the future seems brighter than ever. 1272 01:20:39,961 --> 01:20:42,503 (car honking) 1273 01:20:45,174 --> 01:20:48,342 walter chrysler is planning for his future as well. 1274 01:20:49,470 --> 01:20:51,178 - If it's going to cost that, 1275 01:20:51,264 --> 01:20:53,764 we got to tell him it's too expensive, right? 1276 01:20:53,850 --> 01:20:55,808 - [narrator] since launching the chrysler 70, 1277 01:20:55,893 --> 01:20:58,060 sales have skyrocketed. 1278 01:20:58,145 --> 01:21:00,563 - Tell him I said, that's right. 1279 01:21:00,648 --> 01:21:03,399 - [narrator] and he needs to increase production. 1280 01:21:03,484 --> 01:21:05,860 So he buys a rival car company, 1281 01:21:08,823 --> 01:21:09,655 dodge. 1282 01:21:12,952 --> 01:21:17,413 - The dodge brothers company had an enormous factory complex 1283 01:21:17,498 --> 01:21:18,497 in detroit. 1284 01:21:20,084 --> 01:21:23,252 Foundries, machine shops, forges, 1285 01:21:23,337 --> 01:21:25,546 and chrysler bought all of it. 1286 01:21:26,632 --> 01:21:27,464 - [narrator] overnight, 1287 01:21:27,550 --> 01:21:29,967 chrysler's manufacturing capacity 1288 01:21:30,052 --> 01:21:31,719 grows five fold. 1289 01:21:31,762 --> 01:21:33,220 - Put it there. 1290 01:21:33,306 --> 01:21:36,432 - [narrator] and catapults his company into the top tier 1291 01:21:36,517 --> 01:21:37,725 of the auto industry. 1292 01:21:39,020 --> 01:21:41,604 - The automotive industries publication wrote, 1293 01:21:41,689 --> 01:21:46,358 "we now can talk about the big three car companies, 1294 01:21:46,444 --> 01:21:48,944 general motors, ford, and chrysler." 1295 01:21:49,030 --> 01:21:50,571 - cheers, all right! 1296 01:21:50,615 --> 01:21:52,573 - And that was the first time that expression had ever 1297 01:21:52,658 --> 01:21:53,407 been used. 1298 01:21:59,165 --> 01:22:01,206 - [narrator] chrysler is number three, 1299 01:22:02,168 --> 01:22:03,876 but he wants to be number one. 1300 01:22:05,922 --> 01:22:08,088 To outdo ford and du pont, 1301 01:22:08,174 --> 01:22:09,423 chrysler once again, 1302 01:22:09,508 --> 01:22:12,259 sets out to build something spectacular. 1303 01:22:13,179 --> 01:22:15,846 But this time, it's not a car. 1304 01:22:15,932 --> 01:22:19,099 It's an 800 foot monument to himself. 1305 01:22:20,686 --> 01:22:21,936 The chrysler building. 1306 01:22:23,689 --> 01:22:27,274 - See here, I redesigned the revolving doors in the lobby, 1307 01:22:27,360 --> 01:22:29,485 so they're under a huge archway. 1308 01:22:29,570 --> 01:22:32,112 - [narrator] and with it, walter chrysler intends 1309 01:22:32,156 --> 01:22:35,157 to put his mark on the new york city skyline. 1310 01:22:35,242 --> 01:22:36,784 - Now we're going to have to figure something out 1311 01:22:36,827 --> 01:22:37,618 about the roof. 1312 01:22:43,042 --> 01:22:46,168 - [narrator] a skyscraper boom is underway, 1313 01:22:46,253 --> 01:22:48,170 as the economy soars. 1314 01:22:48,255 --> 01:22:51,548 The demand for new office buildings is on the rise. 1315 01:22:52,301 --> 01:22:55,636 Thanks to innovations in steel frame construction, 1316 01:22:55,721 --> 01:22:59,682 new high rises are reshaping america's cities, 1317 01:22:59,767 --> 01:23:01,809 especially in new york. 1318 01:23:01,894 --> 01:23:04,144 - The skyscraper is an interesting phenomenon. 1319 01:23:04,230 --> 01:23:06,230 If we think about it this way, 1320 01:23:06,315 --> 01:23:07,856 robber barons built these beautiful mansions 1321 01:23:07,942 --> 01:23:09,817 to show off their wealth and opulence, 1322 01:23:11,028 --> 01:23:13,654 these skyscrapers were pyramids in the sky 1323 01:23:13,698 --> 01:23:15,406 to the captains of industry. 1324 01:23:15,491 --> 01:23:18,826 Titans of a new age, of industrial strength and might. 1325 01:23:21,288 --> 01:23:22,830 - All right, let's take a look. 1326 01:23:25,876 --> 01:23:27,960 - [narrator] chrysler aims to make his building 1327 01:23:28,045 --> 01:23:29,628 the tallest in the world. 1328 01:23:31,632 --> 01:23:33,340 - This is the roughest stainless steel. 1329 01:23:33,384 --> 01:23:36,218 It's german. 1330 01:23:36,303 --> 01:23:38,429 - Did the world need the tallest building? 1331 01:23:38,514 --> 01:23:40,055 No, that's ego. 1332 01:23:40,141 --> 01:23:42,558 But ego is a great thing in business. 1333 01:23:42,643 --> 01:23:45,519 Ego, you show me a titan of industry, 1334 01:23:45,604 --> 01:23:48,188 and I'll show you somebody with a big ego. 1335 01:24:03,289 --> 01:24:04,246 - Sorry to disturb you. 1336 01:24:04,331 --> 01:24:07,541 But I think you should see this. 1337 01:24:14,633 --> 01:24:16,717 (suspenseful music) 1338 01:24:16,761 --> 01:24:19,386 - [narrator] du pont learns about chrysler's plans, 1339 01:24:20,723 --> 01:24:22,556 and to add insult to injury, 1340 01:24:23,976 --> 01:24:25,434 chrysler has just been named, 1341 01:24:25,519 --> 01:24:28,270 time magazine's man of the year. 1342 01:24:29,648 --> 01:24:32,733 - So why you building the tallest building in the world? 1343 01:24:34,278 --> 01:24:36,904 - So I can look down on gm. 1344 01:24:36,989 --> 01:24:40,074 (group laughing) 1345 01:24:40,159 --> 01:24:41,742 - [[interviewer] what do you have against gm? 1346 01:24:42,870 --> 01:24:44,620 - Oh, I wouldn't say I have anything 1347 01:24:44,705 --> 01:24:46,080 in particular against them. 1348 01:24:46,165 --> 01:24:48,916 They just don't do it as good as I do, right? 1349 01:24:49,001 --> 01:24:50,834 (group laughing) 1350 01:24:50,920 --> 01:24:52,086 so I can look down on gm. 1351 01:24:55,049 --> 01:24:56,423 Look down on gm. 1352 01:25:01,222 --> 01:25:02,096 - Sorry, sir. 1353 01:25:06,185 --> 01:25:09,436 - It absolutely gets personal between these two, 1354 01:25:09,522 --> 01:25:11,980 always measuring themselves against one another. 1355 01:25:12,066 --> 01:25:13,315 When you're talking about people 1356 01:25:13,400 --> 01:25:15,776 at the top top, top, top, top, 1357 01:25:15,861 --> 01:25:18,570 their competitiveness is rooted in ego. 1358 01:25:28,249 --> 01:25:29,665 - As for office space, we're looking 1359 01:25:29,750 --> 01:25:32,042 at over two million square feet. 1360 01:25:32,128 --> 01:25:33,627 We'll be able to hold more tenants 1361 01:25:33,671 --> 01:25:36,672 than any other building in the world, and all at a premium. 1362 01:25:36,757 --> 01:25:39,675 Especially when you account for the sweeping views 1363 01:25:39,760 --> 01:25:40,634 of the city. 1364 01:25:41,720 --> 01:25:42,636 - How high? 1365 01:25:44,056 --> 01:25:46,473 - The top floor will be 800 feet up, 1366 01:25:46,559 --> 01:25:47,808 same height as chrysler's. 1367 01:25:54,567 --> 01:25:56,984 - Make it taller, and I'm in. 1368 01:25:59,446 --> 01:26:02,489 (dramatic music) 1369 01:26:02,575 --> 01:26:05,159 - [narrator] just a few blocks from chrysler's building, 1370 01:26:05,244 --> 01:26:09,329 pierre du pont is planning a skyscraper of his own. 1371 01:26:09,415 --> 01:26:12,166 One that he hopes, will put chrysler's to shame. 1372 01:26:14,003 --> 01:26:18,422 - There is a competition, there's a rivalry happening, 1373 01:26:18,507 --> 01:26:21,842 as to who's going to build the biggest skyscraper, 1374 01:26:21,927 --> 01:26:23,844 and du pont wanted to be part of that. 1375 01:26:25,306 --> 01:26:28,348 And in that prosperity of the 1920s, 1376 01:26:28,434 --> 01:26:31,852 that meant buying the old waldorf astoria hotel, 1377 01:26:33,606 --> 01:26:34,521 tearing it down, 1378 01:26:35,649 --> 01:26:38,233 and creating what was to become 1379 01:26:38,319 --> 01:26:41,195 the largest, tallest skyscraper, 1380 01:26:41,280 --> 01:26:43,864 not only in new york, but in the world. 1381 01:26:45,326 --> 01:26:47,868 And that of course, was the empire state building. 1382 01:26:58,631 --> 01:27:00,881 - [narrator] next time on the titans that built america, 1383 01:27:02,134 --> 01:27:06,220 egos and rivalries, soar to new heights. 1384 01:27:06,263 --> 01:27:07,763 - So we will be four feet taller, 1385 01:27:07,848 --> 01:27:11,433 chrysler can stick an umbrella on top and say he's taller. 1386 01:27:11,518 --> 01:27:14,561 - Ladies and gentlemen, the future of aviation. 1387 01:27:16,440 --> 01:27:17,898 - [narrator] but america soon faces 1388 01:27:17,983 --> 01:27:20,734 the greatest financial crisis in history. 1389 01:27:21,946 --> 01:27:25,405 - Overall assets down by 400 million. 1390 01:27:25,491 --> 01:27:28,533 - Mr morgan, what's happening? 1391 01:27:28,577 --> 01:27:30,744 Has the stock market stopped falling? 1392 01:27:30,829 --> 01:27:32,412 - It's time to cut our losses. 1393 01:27:32,498 --> 01:27:34,248 I'm shutting ford aviation down. 1394 01:27:36,210 --> 01:27:37,834 - [narrator] and a bold new president, 1395 01:27:37,920 --> 01:27:39,920 franklin delano roosevelt, 1396 01:27:40,005 --> 01:27:43,674 is determined to tame the titan's power 1397 01:27:43,759 --> 01:27:45,175 or crush them. 1398 01:27:45,761 --> 01:27:47,594 - You're nothing short of a war profiteer, 1399 01:27:47,680 --> 01:27:48,762 a merchant of death. 1400 01:27:51,183 --> 01:27:53,642 - [narrator] but, as the country struggles to build its way 1401 01:27:53,727 --> 01:27:54,768 out of the depression, 1402 01:27:58,524 --> 01:28:02,693 a threat from abroad changes the rules of the game. 1403 01:28:02,778 --> 01:28:05,904 - No country in europe would stand a chance against germany, 1404 01:28:05,990 --> 01:28:07,656 and neither will america. 1405 01:28:07,741 --> 01:28:10,617 - [narrator] with war looming, they'll have to work with fdr 1406 01:28:11,829 --> 01:28:14,579 and each other to save the world.