Plenty of powerful companies built their foundation on slavery and profited off forced labor while shaping entire industries. That history doesn’t show up on their packaging, but that doesn’t make it disappear. It’s worth knowing who profited, and how deep that money runs.
Wells Fargo
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Predecessor banks later absorbed by Wells Fargo, including the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company, directly profited by accepting enslaved people as loan collateral. When borrowers defaulted, these institutions legally owned and often sold the individuals.
Brooks Brothers
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In the early 1800s, Brooks Brothers outfitted slave owners and produced "negro cloth" for enslaved individuals. This customer base, derived from the plantation economy, significantly contributed to the brand's establishment as America's oldest continuously operating apparel company.
New York Life Insurance
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Between 1846 and 1848, New York Life's predecessor sold over 500 life insurance policies covering enslaved people by compensating owners upon their deaths. These policies were a direct revenue stream until public pressure prompted the discontinuation of the practice in 1848.
Brown University
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Brown University's early endowment was significantly bolstered by wealth from the transatlantic slave trade. Many prominent benefactors, including the Brown family for whom the university is named, directly participated in voyages transporting enslaved Africans. This financial foundation highlights how the university's growth is intertwined with the exploitation of human lives.
Lehman Brothers
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The precursor firms to Lehman Brothers, established in Alabama, were heavily engaged in the cotton trade. As brokers and financiers, they facilitated the production and sale of this commodity, which relied entirely on enslaved labor. Their early expansion and wealth were thus deeply connected to the forced toil of millions in the Southern economy.
Georgetown University
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When they started facing financial hardship in 1838, the Jesuit leaders operating Georgetown University orchestrated the sale of 272 enslaved individuals from their Maryland plantations. This brutal transaction generated significant funds and directly ensured the university's survival and growth.
CSX Railroad
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Many of the rail lines forming the modern CSX Railroad were constructed using forced enslaved labor before 1865. This direct use of unpaid labor significantly reduced construction costs. Lawsuits in the 2000s highlighted this direct connection to human toil.
Tiffany & Co.
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Tiffany & Co., established in 1837, operated within an economy where significant wealth was derived from slavery. While not directly trading in human beings, the company sold luxury goods to affluent Southern families whose fortunes stemmed from enslaved labor.
Brown Brothers Harriman
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Predecessor firms of Brown Brothers Harriman, significant merchant banks, actively financed the cotton trade. They provided crucial credit to Southern planters and facilitated cotton's transport to European mills. This vital financial support for a slave-dependent industry directly contributed to their substantial accumulation of wealth.
Norfolk Southern
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Modern Norfolk Southern includes historic rail lines like Mobile & Girard, which actively leased and even owned enslaved laborers. These early railroad companies paid slaveholders to use their workforce.
Bank of America
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Several financial institutions that eventually merged into Bank of America had ties to slavery. These predecessor banks accepted enslaved individuals as collateral for loans and financed plantations. Their early business practices reveal how lending and financial services were intricately woven into the economic fabric of slavery.
Aetna Insurance
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Shortly after its 1853 founding, Aetna sold life insurance policies that covered enslaved people. This practice generated revenue by mitigating financial risk for enslavers. Aetna publicly apologized in 2000 for this deplorable historical profit from human suffering.
United States Life Insurance Company
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Like Aetna, the United States Life Insurance Company, founded in 1850 and a predecessor to AIG, sold insurance policies on the lives of enslaved individuals. These policies provided financial protection for slave owners.
J.P. Morgan & Chase
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Before 1865, banks later integrated into J.P. Morgan Chase directly profited by accepting enslaved people as loan collateral, particularly in Louisiana. Upon borrower default, these lenders legally took ownership and sometimes sold the individuals.
Harvard University
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Harvard University significantly benefited from slavery in its early history through the direct enslavement of individuals and receiving large donations from benefactors whose wealth originated from the slave trade and slave labor. The university's foundational growth was thus financially supported by the institution of slavery.