Frederic Samama
Bloomberg
Robert Lovett
Lisa Larsen of the US financial system was his restraint from deriving any kind of personal financial benefit . He cared about national power and prosperity , but he devoted very limited attention to his own material comfort . There would have been no lack of opportunities to personally gain from being at the helm of a rapidly expanding financial system .
He exercised great discipline in averting conflicts of interests , eliminating all outside sources of income when he was in office , in contrast to George Washington , Thomas Jefferson and James Madison . As a member of Congress , he waived the pension he had been entitled to as an officer because he was deeply involved in the debate on veteran benefits . He also waived his right to “ bounty ” land that went to officers . In establishing the Treasury Department , he created internal compliance rules that prevented employees from transacting in government securities .
These were not benevolent gestures from a man of means whose lifestyle was assured by substantial assets . On the contrary , he frequently found himself in need of money , not because he spent it but because he made so little of it , and he did not take advantage of his exalted status in society or his unique position in finance while he built up the financial system . To his credit , he left office in a much weaker personal financial state than he did entering it . As Treasury Secretary , he made
$ 3,500 a year , much less than he would have made in private law practice . Among his many responsibilities , he oversaw the Customs Service , which meant that he had purview over enormous amounts of cash — yet , he handled transactions with utmost integrity .
Hamilton resigned from the Treasury Department unashamedly invoking his need to make money to support his family . Even then , he refrained from the easy money available to men of his status . A clear opportunity presented itself when an old classmate offered to enroll him in a lucrative real estate project soon after he left office . Hamilton graciously declined , likely because his friend represented foreign capital which might present a conflict of interest in the future . He died leaving his family in a financial bind , prompting a discreet fundraising effort among his friends on behalf of his wife , Eliza , and their seven surviving children .
The US financial system – the most expansive and powerful in human history — was established by a man who embodies the antithesis of the concept “ grab what you can when you can .” Of course , the current system would be unrecognizable to Hamilton , but the moral challenges faced by its participants endure . Even if Hamilton ’ s circumstances were unique , his eagerness to succeed on his own terms and his ability to refrain from self-serving — no matter how common or expected that behavior may be — permeate these virtuous finance professionals , from this US Founding Father to Erin Godard , who is still at the beginning of her career . Their stories point to a path in finance that may appeal to well-intentioned professionals who are keen to contribute to society and uphold their values .
JC de Swaan is a lecturer in the economics department at Princeton University , where he is affiliated with the Bendheim Center for Finance , and a partner at Cornwall Capital , a New York-based investment fund . He also teaches at the University of Cambridge and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations . He is the author of Seeking Virtue in Finance : Contributing to Society in a Conflicted Industry ( Cambridge University Press , 2020 ), from which this article has been adapted .
Sources
Bogle , John . Enough : True Measures of Money , Business and Life . Hoboken , NJ : Wiley . 2009 .
Chernow , Ron . Alexander Hamilton . New York : Penguin Press . 2004 .
Sylla , Richard and David Cowen . Alexander Hamilton on Finance , Credit and Debt . New York : Columbia University Press . 2018 .
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