EDUCATORS ’ PERSPECTIVE
The Personal Finances of Presidents , Part 7 : Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt , Jr . ( TR ) was in a bookstore searching his pockets for cash to make a purchase , but he was only able to come up with 25 cents . Laughing , he remarked to a friend , “ Every morning Edie puts $ 20 in my pocket , and to save my life I never can tell her afterward what I did with it !”
It is surprising that TR , a man of boundless curiosity and endless energy , showed no interest in money or finance . Biographer Edmund Morris held that , “ Roosevelt knew little about money — it was one of the subjects that bored him .” Morris also described TR as “ a financial imbecile .” Another biographer , Henry Pringle , noted that TR was “ reckless in personal financial matters .” Were it not for TR ’ s second wife , Edith , the 26th President ’ s financial affairs would have ended in disaster .
TR was born into a well-to-do Dutch family that immigrated to New Amsterdam in 1649 . The firm of Roosevelt & Son , founded in 1797 by TR ’ s second great grandfather , began as a hardware store . It soon moved into the more profitable plate glass importing business , which served the fast-growing metropolis of New York City . The firm also made timely investments in valuable New York real estate during the Panic of 1837 .
Theodore Roosevelt , Sr . joined the family firm at age 20 . He was in charge of the plate glass division , which was discontinued shortly after his untimely
But it happened that I had been left enough money by my father not to make it necessary for me to think solely of earning bread for myself and my family . I had enough to get bread . What I had to do , if I wanted butter and jam , was to provide the butter and jam , but to count their cost as compared with other things . In other words , I made up my mind that , while I must earn money , I could afford to make earning money the secondary instead of the primary object of my career . If I had had no money at all , then my first duty would have been to earn it in any honest fashion . As I had some money I felt that my need for more money was to be treated as a secondary need , and that while it was my business to make more money where I legitimately and properly could , yet that it was also my business to treat other kinds of work as more important than money-making .
death in 1878 . The firm transitioned into the brokerage and investments industry under the leadership of TR ’ s uncle , James Roosevelt . The last big plate glass deal for the firm occurred during the rebuilding of Chicago after the Great Fire of 1871 destroyed much of the city . Soon after , it became apparent that the plate glass importing business had a limited future . 1
There is little evidence that TR was ever expected to join the family firm . His interest in becoming a natural scientist was encouraged by his father , who himself was more interested in philanthropy than business . Although his father supported TR ’ s love of science , he warned him that since he would not make much money in that profession , he needed to learn to live within his means ; this is something TR would never accomplish on his own .
TR inherited about $ 125,000 from his father . He was a 19-year-old sophomore at Harvard and had acquired no financial discipline . Soon after graduation , TR married Alice Hathaway Lee . When Alice discouraged her husband ’ s scientific pursuits , TR turned to writing and politics . After his first book , The Naval War of 1812 ,
— Theodore Roosevelt
published in 1882 , met with high praise , TR invested $ 20,000 in his publisher , G . P . Putnam ’ s Sons . Unfortunately , there were insufficient funds in his bank account to cover his check .
According to George Putnam , “[ TR ] never had any idea where his money went . When he came to us as partner , he gave me a check for $ 20,000 . The check came back from the bank and the clerks said he only had about half enough cash to meet it .” TR ’ s Uncle James , who was the custodian of TR ’ s inheritance and his financial advisor , took care of the overdraft for him .
Alice died in childbirth on Valentine ’ s Day 1884 . TR ’ s mother , who was living with TR and Alice , died of typhoid fever on the same day , just hours before Alice passed away . The devastated widower fled west to North Dakota , where he lost himself in the life of a cattleman . In the midst of his grief , TR threw all financial caution to the wind by investing heavily in the cattle business . He also approved plans shortly after Alice ’ s death to build a $ 22,000 home at Oyster Bay . Family members became quite nervous about the sorry state of TR ’ s finances .
6 FINANCIAL HISTORY | Spring 2024 | www . MoAF . org