AMADEO PETER GIANNINI Biography - Bussiness people and enterpreneurs

 
 

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AMADEO PETER GIANNINI

      Full Name: Mr. Amadeo Pietro Giannini                                             
      Date of Birth: June 5, 1870                                                       
      Place of Birth: San Jose, California, USA                                         
      Died: March 6, 1949                                                               
      Place of Death: San Francisco, California, USA                                     
      Classification: Builders & Titans                                                 
                                                                                         
                                                                                         
                                                                                         
Known to always cater to the needs of his customers, even if it meant giving             
loans on a handshake, Amadeo Giannini revolutionized the banking practices of           
the 19 th and 20 th centuries. A natural businessman who would do anything to           
make a deal, Giannini built an empire by going after a clientele neglected in           
the banking world – the hardworking middle-class citizen.                               
Born to Italian immigrants in California, Amadeo Giannini had to quit school             
early so he could work with his stepfather selling produce at their store. Since         
his father had been killed in a brawl before his eyes, Amadeo realized life was         
too short to not take chances. And, chances he took. In fact, he was made a             
partner in the business and retired from his store in his early thirties by             
selling his share to his employees.                                                     
Upon his retirement, Giannini was asked if he would be willing to join an               
advisory board for a bank that catered to Italian-Americans. When he did, he             
came up with the idea of offering services to the hard-working classes so they           
could start their own businesses, buy a house, a car, or reach their dreams.             
When other board members didn’t agree – believing that the business of banking           
was only for the rich – he left and started his own bank in a converted saloon           
he purchased. He even hired one of the bartenders to be its first teller.               
On the first day, deposits totaled almost nine thousand dollars, an unbelievable         
amount back in 1904. As his bank grew and word of his honest practices spread           
through different communities, he gained many loyal customers and would do               
anything to seal a deal with them. It is also documented that he would do               
anything to beat his competitors, even if it meant riding a horse, swimming             
through a pond, and running a long distance just to obtain a signature, which           
actually happened.                                                                       
The Bank of Italy soon became the Bank of America in 1928 when Giannini bought           
the old bank from New York. He brought all his banks under that one name. As his         
bank grew, he started opening up branches all around California and eventually           
all over the United States. Surviving the Great Depression and following his             
same goals, the Bank of America became the most expansive and richest bank in           
the world. For someone who always followed his dreams and held strong to his             
convictions, Amadeo Giannini is whom we have to thank for the modern way banks           
cater to each and every person, no matter their wealth.