Amadeo Peter Giannini Founder of the Bank of America Corporation
Biography of Amadeo Peter Giannini
Early Life
Amadeo Peter Giannini founder of the Bank of America Corporation was born in San Jose, California on 6th May, 1870. His parents were running a hotel on lease. His father was killed in a quarrel in 1877. After one year his mother married to another man. That new family moved to San Francisco in 1882. There his step-father worked in fruit Wholesaler Company of North Beach district. After some his step-father owned a fruit company.
He was a very good and bright student. But his interest was diverted early into business world. On the weekends of school he worked in his step-father’s fruit company. Due to this reason he studied only short courses at Heal d’s Business College and very early jumped into the adult work life.
Role in Business World
His interest in the work made him very much responsible and efficient, and at the age of just 17 years he went on making consistent business trips from his company’s side. He worked very hard for the company, observed carefully the whole environment of business, and increased his personal working hours. From his working characteristics he was a perfect banker. This devotion to the company earned him half of the share in Scatena & Co., his stepfather’s company.
In 1892, he married to Clorinda Agnes Cuneo; she was a daughter of a rich man. His fortune further shined and he joined real estate business. He worked as a commission maker for nine years after marriage. He retired from the job of his stepfather’s company at the age of 30 years. After that he relied on his savings and $100,000 which he received after the sale of his interest from his stepfather’s Scatena & Co. Then he concentrated on his father-in-law’s estate as a broker.
Banking Career and Founder of Bank of America
After sometime he designated as the director of his father-in-law’s “Columbus Savings and Loan”. Banks at that time were supposed to serve only rich people but he observed that a large number of immigrants are without bank, and he thought of opening a new bank of his own.
For fulfilling this purpose, on 17th of October in 1904 he opened Bank of Italy in San Francisco. That bank was serving those people who were ignored by previous banks; this bank provided those savings accounts and other benefits. This plan was successful, but natural calamity hit San Francisco in 1906 with an earthquake. Almost whole state ruined.
But he somehow saved the money of people and operated his bank after sometime from a rural area San Mateo. He moved his vault at the time of earthquake there. In 1916 he expanded his banking institutions by opening different branches at different places of San Francisco. He also bought some banks in California and expanded up to more than five hundred branches.
In 1928, he came to Orra E. Monnete, bank owner, asking him to open up a merger of two banks and Mr. Orra E. Monnete accepted his proposal and new bank was formed then, which was the Bank of America in Los Angeles. That bank was collaboration of two banks.
Bank of America Corporation
It is a multinational financial and banking institute of United States. It’s headquarter is in Charlotte, North Carolina. In ranking, it is on the second number in terms of asset holding, on fifth number in terms of total revenue, and on the third number in terms of Non-oil Corporation in the United States. While in international ranking it is the third largest bank of the world.
Death
In 1948, his bank was charged for some allegations and Federal Revenue was asked to investigate on those charges. In 1949, on 3rd of June, he died. Federal Revenue Board members were failed to prove those charges and U.S. Court of Appeals declared that bank as charged free.
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