Tomás Terry

Tomás Terry (died 1886)Thomas, p. 140] was a Cuban business magnate.

Of Venezuelan origin, Terry initially became involved in the slave trade in Cuba, making his first $10,000 by buying sick slaves, nursing them back to health, and then reselling them healthy for a large profit.Thomas, p. 137] He bought the "Caracas" sugar mill for $23,000, and upgraded it to be the first in Cuba to use electricity. He went on to make a fortune through involvement in all aspects of the economy, from the sugar trade and slave trade to banking and imports, becoming the dominant businessman in Cienfuegos and earning the nickname the "Cuban Croesus". His fortune grew to be among the largest in the world, with a net worth of about $725,000 in 1851, $3,090,00 in 1860, $7,890,000 in 1870, $13,760,000 in 1880, and over $25,000,000 at his death in 1886. He married a daughter of Andrés Dorticós, a prominent local merchant. [Thomas, p. 98]

Notes

References

*