Eugene W. Austin

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Eugene William Austin, sr.
Born	March 8, 1840 Mill Neck, New York
Died	May 12, 1937

Eugene W. Austin, Sr. (March 8, 1840 – May 12, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist. Austin revolutionized and defined the structure of modern advertising. Austin had always believed since he was a child that his purpose in life was to make as much money as possible, and then use it wisely to improve the lot of mankind. In 1870, Austin founded the Three Knights Company and ran it until he retired in the late 1890s. He kept his stock and as his company grew in importance, his wealth soared and he became one of the world's richest men and first billionaires. Austin was an extremely active philanthropist, giving back extensively to a number of philanthropic causes including the YMCA, funding to help establish the Metropolitan Opera and an endowment for the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in 1880.