Financial
history
The magazine of the Museum of American Finance
in association with the Smithsonian Institution
Issue 140 • Winter 2022 ( ISSN 1520-4723 )
Kristin Aguilera Editor
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Howard A . Baker , Esq . Howard Baker Associates Lawrence A . Cunningham The George Washington University Brian Grinder Eastern Washington University Gregory DL Morris Freelance Journalist Susie Pak St . John ’ s University Arthur W . Samansky The Samansky Group Myles Thompson Columbia Business School Publishing Janice Traflet Bucknell University Robert E . Wright American Institute for Economic Research Jason Zweig The Wall Street Journal
ART DIRECTION Alan Barnett Design
MUSEUM STAFF David J . Cowen , President / CEO Kristin Aguilera , Deputy Director Robert Dinkelmann , IT / Technology Maura Ferguson , Director of Exhibits Sarah Poole , Collections Manager
Linda Rapacki , Managing Director of Visitor Services and Operations
Mindy Ross , Director , External Relations Ben Urizar , Assistant Director of Visitor Services
Copyright © 2022 by the Museum of American Finance , publisher . All rights reserved .
Financial History is the official membership magazine of the Museum of American Finance .
IN THIS ISSUE
10 Words of Wisdom
Remarks from the 2022 Museum of American Finance Gala .
By Jordan Melamed , Leo Melamed , Bob Pisani , Thomas Peterffy , Michael Milken , Steven T . Mnuchin , Richard Sylla and John E . Herzog
18 Bread & Roses : Not Just Subsistence , but Dignity
The 1912 Lawrence Textile Strike set precedents for industry-wide action , inter-ethnic collaboration and women ’ s leadership .
By Gregory DL Morris
22 Shareholder Wealth Maximization
The debate over whether a corporation ’ s primary purpose is to make money for shareholders or protect the interest of all stakeholders .
By Dalia Mitchell
26 A Shot to Save the World
BioNTech CEO Ugur Şahin and Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel were two of the innovative executives behind the COVID-19 vaccines .
By Gregory Zuckerman
30 The Founders ’ Fortunes
Benjamin Franklin ’ s early rise and business career .
By Willard Sterne Randall
34 The “ Power ” of the Tennessee Valley Authority in the 1930s
FDR envisioned the TVA would enhance the Tennessee Valley through environmental conservation , reforestation and both agricultural and economic development . It eventually became an important counterbalance to investor-owned utilities in that region .
By Michael A . Martorelli
FEATURES
2 FINANCIAL HISTORY | Winter 2022 | www . MoAF . org