In the 1920s you could buy stocks on margin. You could put 10 percent down and borrow the rest against your stocks.

Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller was a prominent figure in American business known as an industrialist philanthropist and the founder of the Standard Oil Company. In addition to his background writing nonfiction works and biographies Chernow continues to contribute articles to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

He is also the recipient of the National Book Award for Nonfiction for his 1990 book The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance. Eccles Prize for Excellence in Economic Writing. Rockefeller were both nominated for National Book Critics Circle Awards while The Warburgs: The Twentieth-Century Odyssey of a Remarkable Jewish Family was honored with the 1993 George S.