Leland Stanford
Leland Stanford was one of the “Big Four” founders of the Central Pacific Railroad and one of the first names that came to mind when one said “robber baron.” By the middle of the 19th century, Stanford had made many millions of dollars by using many practices common to the robber barons of his age. The Central Pacific Railroad, with Leland Stanford as its President, crushed the competition by creating a monopoly of the transportation of goods. Stanford and his company also influenced government policies to benefit themselves and the railroad industry, and even hired Chinese workers and exploited them as much as they could to increase profits, with Stanford amassing millions in a short time. Leland Stanford was born in 1824 on a farm near Albany, New York. ... Stanford moved to Port Washington, Wisconsin to open his own law practice, and he soon met his wife, Jane Eliza Lathrop. ... In 1861, Stanford was the Republican Party’s nomination for governor of California, an election that he won decisively.