9 Individuals Who Built Empires During the Great Depression

Even in the darkest days of America's most devastating economic collapse, some people still figured out how to make a fortune—many fortunes, in fact. These are the 9 individuals who thrived during the Great Depression.

1. Babe Ruth

The Sultan of Swat never hesitated to live large. While baseball players' earnings in the '30s were nowhere near as high as they are today, Ruth was at the top of the list. Though the story may be more legend than fact, during contract talks, when Ruth discovered his $80,000 salary (which would be over $1 million today) was $5,000 more than President Hoover's, he reportedly remarked, "I had a better year than he did." Despite this, he did agree to take a pay cut.

2. John Dillinger

Through a series of bank heists, Dillinger and his gang amassed approximately $500,000 (roughly $7 million in today's money). While we wouldn't condone their actions, this bold, charismatic, and fearless criminal became the epitome of an anti-hero that resonated with the downtrodden, jobless population. In 1934, FBI agents shot and killed him in Chicago.

3. Michael J. Cullen

Though not widely known, Cullen’s groundbreaking vision transformed American retail forever. As a former executive at Kroger Grocery & Bakery Co., he struck out on his own in 1930 after his revolutionary ideas for large, self-service grocery stores with ample parking and a vast array of products at or near cost were rejected. By 1932, his stores (known as King Kullen Grocery) were generating over $6 million in sales (which would be over $100 million today).

4. James Cagney

The former vaudeville performer quickly rose through Hollywood's ranks in the 1930s. Starting as a $500-a-week contract player in 1930, he became one of the top ten earners in the movie industry by 1935. By the mid-1930s, Cagney was pulling in $4,500 a week (equivalent to nearly $60,000 today). His rapid ascent was so remarkable that he even offered to make a few films for free just to escape a five-year deal with Warner Brothers.

5. Charles Darrow

After losing his job following the 1929 crash, Darrow spent a few years perfecting—some might say stealing—a simple board game that would later be known as Monopoly. Within a year of patenting it, Parker Brothers began selling 20,000 copies a week, and Darrow became the first-ever millionaire game designer.

6. Howard Hughes

While much of his later life is remembered for eccentricities like growing impossibly long fingernails, wearing Kleenex box hats, and storing his urine in mayonnaise jars, Hughes had an exceptional career before these peculiarities. After the '29 crash, undeterred by the economic collapse, he released Hell's Angels—at the time, the most expensive movie ever—with a budget of $3.8 million. In 1932, during the depth of the Great Depression, Hughes founded the Hughes Aircraft Company, which became a leading defense supplier. By the time of his death in 1976, his fortune was estimated at around $2.5 billion.

7. J. Paul Getty

A master of timing and business strategy, Getty turned a $500,000 inheritance in 1930 into a vast oil empire. With oil prices at rock-bottom, he seized the opportunity to purchase oil stocks at discounted rates, eventually building a company that rivaled Rockefeller's. Over the course of the 20th century, Getty amassed a fortune worth billions.

8. Gene Autry

The Great Depression marked the peak of Autry’s career. After signing a record deal with what would later become Columbia Records in 1929, he transitioned from a local radio yodeler to a national sensation throughout the 1930s. Autry went on to star in more than 90 films, becoming the biggest western box office star. The “Singing Cowboy,” not content to just be a yodeler, later expanded his empire to include TV and radio stations across the Western United States and even owned the California Angels.

9. Joseph Kennedy, Sr.

Kennedy, head of the Camelot family, amassed a significant fortune in the 1920s through a mix of speculation, insider trading, and market manipulation. While many of his contemporaries helped cause the market instability that led to the '30s financial disaster and lost their wealth, Kennedy knew when to pull out, selling off much of his stock before the 1929 crash. Once out of the stock market, “Old Joe” invested in real estate and liquor (though rumors of his involvement in bootlegging are unlikely), reaping immense profits and securing his family’s place among America’s financial elite.