Serve The Needs Of Others - A.P. Giannini

A.P. Giannini
Company: Bank of America
Net Worth: Unknown

Home mortgages, auto loans, installment credit – they may be taken for granted today, but before this son of Italian immigrants came along, such things didn’t exist. Amadeo Peter Giannini – A.P. to his friends – revolutionized the banking world by focusing on “the little people.” Giannini passed away in 1949 at the age of 79. By that time, the bank he had founded, the Bank of America, had become the largest bank in the world, with $7 billion in assets and more than 525 branches in over 300 American cities. Today, Giannini stands out as one of TIME Magazine’s Builders and Titans of the 20th century – the only banker to make this list of the century’s most 100 important people.

He never dreamed of being a banker when he was a child, but today, there is nary a student of retail banking who does not know the incredible story of this determined entrepreneur. A son of poor immigrants, Giannini helped build the first national system of banks for the ordinary person, all the while fueling California’s economic development and inspiring a new generation of entrepreneurs. What were Giannini’s secrets for success?

Advice For Entrepreneurs:

“Serving the needs of others is the only legitimate business today. Money itch is a bad thing. I never had that trouble. I don’t want to become too rich because not one rich person controls richness, but is controlled by it.”