Henry Ford may not have invented the car, or even the assembly line, but he perfected them. His Model T – nicknamed “Tin Lizzie” – made cars affordable for the average worker, not just the rich. He was a master tinkerer, inventor and even introduced the five-day 40-hour work week – better than the six-day grind that was the norm at the time.
But his legacy is a complicated one. He increased wages but crushed unions. Plus he used his popularity to spread antisemitic conspiracy theories. In 1938, Germany’s Nazi regime even gave him a medal for it. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng tell the story of the man whose influence helped push America from farm to factory, shaping roads, suburbs, motels, and malls.
In this special series, Good Bad Dead Billionaire, find out how five of the world's most famous dead billionaires made their money. These iconic pioneers who helped shape America may be long gone, but their fingerprints are all over modern industry - in business trusts, IPOs, and mass production. They did it all first, but how did they make their billions?
Good Bad Billionaire is the podcast exploring the lives of the super-rich and famous, tracking their wealth, philanthropy, business ethics and success. There are leaders who made their money in Silicon Valley, on Wall Street and in high street fashion. From iconic celebrities and CEOs to titans of technology, the podcast unravels tales of fortune, power, economics, ambition and moral responsibility, before inviting you to make up your own mind: are they good, bad or just another billionaire?