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- Ford's IPO, Trump Chocolates, Standard Oil is founded and Starbucks opens in China
Ford's IPO, Trump Chocolates, Standard Oil is founded and Starbucks opens in China
Welcome to This Week In Ticker History, where every stock has a story
David Prince
January 13, 2025
We’re off to a great start for 2025.
Last year, six of the “Magnificent Seven” stocks outperformed SPY, and analysts are predicting good results for this year as well.
We’ve got Enron building nuclear reactors, AI companies going public at rich valuations, and quantum computing making waves.
The foundation of the future is being laid now as we speak.
Thoughts go out to Kim Kardashian after getting demoted at the private equity firm she co-founded due to drastically missing her fundraising goals. Hopefully she’ll land on her feet.
As always, stay bullish.
Own a piece of Wall Street history. Check out the Ticker History Shop for stock certificates from your favorite companies.
Trump Opens The Biggest Casino In The World 📅
Before he was President, before he was a reality TV star, Donald Trump was in the casino business.
Donald Trump opened the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in April 1990, calling it the "Eighth Wonder of the World." At the time, it was the world’s largest casino, featuring over 120,000 square feet of gaming space built at a cost of $1 billion. The opening ceremony even featured a concert by Michael Jackson.
The project had financial difficulties from the start. Trump financed the casino with high-interest junk bonds, carrying an annual debt service of nearly $95 million, which put immediate pressure on the business's profitability.
Critics such as gaming industry analyst Marvin Roffman said that the casino’s debt was unsustainable, as he told ABC News. Trump phoned Roffman’s boss at Janney Montgomery Scott and demanded he was fired- and he was.
Within a year of its opening, the Taj Mahal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1991. Employees and contractors alleged they were underpaid or never compensated for their work on the casino, fueling further public criticism.
The casino also faced scrutiny for its ties to organized crime, with the NJ Casino Control Commission imposing fines on the Taj Mahal for failing to properly investigate potential money laundering by the New York mafia.
The Trump Taj Mahal closed in 2016, reopening in 2018 as the Hard Rock Casino.
 Donald Trump and Michael Jackson backstage before the King of Pop’s performance at the opening. |  Donald Trump outside his signature property. |
 The Taj Mahal’s contents were put up for sale after the final bankruptcy proceedings in 2016. |  Roffman sued Trump for damages after Trump had him fired for his criticisms. |
This Week In Business History 📅
January 19, 2000 Starbucks opens in first store in mainland China with products tailored to reflect Chinese culture and a localized mobile app. Today, there are over 7,500 Starbucks in China, with the original Beijing location still in operation. |  Starbucks executive and employees from both countries stand in front of their flagship location. |
January 18, 1996 The Walt Disney Company acquired ABC parent company Capital Cities for $19 billion in one of the largest media mergers of its time. The deal gave Disney control of the ABC television network, ESPN, and various radio and publishing assets. |  Disney Chairman Michael Eisner shakes hands with Capital Cities/ABC Chairman Thomas Murphy. |
January 17, 1956 The Ford Motor Company launched its IPO, offering 10.2 million shares at a price of $64.50 per share. The company raised $650 million and was valued at $3.2 billion. During the global financial crisis of 2008, Ford avoided bankruptcy like General Motors and Chrysler due to a large capital raise two years prior. |  A 1956 Detroit newspaper letting locals know they could own a piece of Ford. |
January 19, 1983 The Apple Lisa is introduced, bringing a graphical user interface to the mainstream market, replacing text commands with windows, icons, and a mouse. It was named after Steve Jobs’ daughter, Lisa. The Lisa cost $9,995 (about $30,000 adjusted for inflation), and sold only about 10,000 units. Apple nearly went bankrupt by its failure, saved only by the release of the Macintosh in 1984. |  A young Steve Jobs shows off the Lisa. Though it was a commercial failure, it was ahead of its time, bringing about many features we consider standard on computers today. |
The Biggest Monopoly In The World: Standard Oil Is Founded 📅
On January 10, 1870, The Standard Oil Company was founded by John D. Rockefeller and William Rockefeller in Cleveland, Ohio. The company quickly expanded as Rockefeller used aggressive business tactics to acquire rival refineries and secure control over oil production, transportation, and distribution.
Using vertical integration, Standard Oil consolidated smaller competitors, enabling it to dominate the American oil industry. Standard Oil quickly became a major force in the oil market, with a monopoly over the refining, marketing, and distribution of petroleum products in the United States.
By the late 1880s, Standard Oil controlled nearly 90% of the U.S. oil market, sparking a backlash from competitors and public officials who called for regulation and antitrust action. In 1911, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Standard Oil was in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, and it was ordered to break up into 34 smaller companies.
Many of these companies, such as Exxon, Mobil, and Chevron, continued to operate today.
 John D. Rockefeller walks with his son John Jr. outside one of his refineries. |  A 1904 antitrust political cartoon depicts Standard Oil controlling all parts of the oil refining process. |
This Just In 📅
Looking Forward 📅
That’s old news. What can we look forward to this week?
-JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs all report earnings.
-United Healthcare reports earnings for the first time since CEO Brian Thompson was murdered in New York City by Luigi Mangione.
-Wicked, A Complete Unknown, and The Brutalist keep picking up steam for potential Oscars nominations.
-The CFB National Championship is all set for next Monday and we’re down to the divisional rounds in the NFL. If your team is still in, best of luck.
Stay safe, stay warm, and stay bullish.
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