WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.100 The Deep Dive, Lucky Baldwin, the California 00:00:03.100 --> 00:00:06.540 Gold Rush, and the Making of Los Angeles. Explore 00:00:06.540 --> 00:00:08.839 the incredible true history of Elias Jackson, 00:00:09.119 --> 00:00:11.919 Lucky Baldwin, and his deep dive. Discover how 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:14.460 he bypassed the California Gold Rush to build 00:00:14.460 --> 00:00:17.719 a massive real estate and business empire. From 00:00:17.719 --> 00:00:20.239 the accidental Comstock load fortune and surviving 00:00:20.239 --> 00:00:23.199 courtroom shootouts to founding Santa Anita Park 00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:26.019 and shaping modern Los Angeles history, we unpack 00:00:26.019 --> 00:00:28.820 the strategies of a pioneer who monetized the 00:00:28.820 --> 00:00:31.309 boomtown era. Grab your notes and let's explore 00:00:31.309 --> 00:00:34.070 the economics and wild adventures of Lucky Baldwin. 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:36.979 Welcome. I am so thrilled to have you joining 00:00:36.979 --> 00:00:39.840 us for a brand new deep dive today. Yes. Really 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:42.600 excited to get into this one. We are. We're basically 00:00:42.600 --> 00:00:44.479 stepping into a time machine today and heading 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:46.399 straight back to the California gold rush of 00:00:46.399 --> 00:00:49.659 1853. What time? Right. Picture the scene. You've 00:00:49.659 --> 00:00:52.000 got tens of thousands of people abandoning their 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:54.880 lives, rushing out west to dig in the dirt, completely 00:00:54.880 --> 00:00:57.240 desperate to strike it rich and find gold. The 00:00:57.240 --> 00:00:59.880 ultimate gold fever. Exactly. But today's subject. 00:01:00.439 --> 00:01:02.579 Elias Jackson Baldwin, who is much better known 00:01:02.579 --> 00:01:06.480 to history as Lucky Baldwin, has a, well, a completely 00:01:06.480 --> 00:01:09.280 different plan. He really did. So we're pulling 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:12.079 all our facts today from a comprehensive historical 00:01:12.079 --> 00:01:15.099 overview of his life. And our mission for this 00:01:15.099 --> 00:01:18.760 deep dive is to figure out exactly how a wandering 00:01:18.760 --> 00:01:22.120 farm boy from Ohio became the largest taxpayer 00:01:22.120 --> 00:01:24.560 in Los Angeles. It's an unbelievable trajectory. 00:01:24.620 --> 00:01:27.019 We're talking surviving stock crashes, angry 00:01:27.019 --> 00:01:31.280 mobs. literal gunshots and building a massive 00:01:31.280 --> 00:01:34.359 empire. It is a phenomenal story to dig into. 00:01:34.599 --> 00:01:37.120 And this isn't just a biography of a guy getting 00:01:37.120 --> 00:01:39.620 incredibly lucky, although, I mean, that element 00:01:39.620 --> 00:01:41.379 is certainly present. Though heavily present. 00:01:41.480 --> 00:01:44.560 Yeah. But it is really a masterclass in the economics 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:48.159 of a boomtown. And just the sheer audacity of 00:01:48.159 --> 00:01:50.400 19th century American capitalism. Right. It's 00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:52.340 a perfect lens for understanding how the West 00:01:52.340 --> 00:01:55.400 was actually won. Not by the prospectors panning 00:01:55.400 --> 00:01:57.459 in the rivers. But by the people monetizing them. 00:01:57.599 --> 00:02:00.140 Exactly. By the strategists who figured out how 00:02:00.140 --> 00:02:02.219 to monetize those prospectors. OK, let's unpack 00:02:02.219 --> 00:02:04.400 this from the very beginning. Elias Baldwin was 00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:08.419 born in Hamilton, Ohio, in 1828. He is the fourth 00:02:08.419 --> 00:02:12.180 of 14 children. And by 1834, the family moves 00:02:12.180 --> 00:02:15.379 to a farm in Indiana. He gets very little formal 00:02:15.379 --> 00:02:18.620 education, but he's known as a wanderer, an adventurer 00:02:18.620 --> 00:02:21.960 and a very strong -willed kid. He had that entrepreneurial 00:02:21.960 --> 00:02:26.120 spirit early on. Definitely. By age 18, he elopes 00:02:26.120 --> 00:02:29.180 with a neighbor named Sarah Ann Unruh. They head 00:02:29.180 --> 00:02:31.800 back to farm and train horses, but they quickly 00:02:31.800 --> 00:02:34.900 realize they want more out of life. Farming wasn't 00:02:34.900 --> 00:02:37.520 going to cut it. No. So they moved to Valparaiso, 00:02:37.580 --> 00:02:40.039 Indiana, opened a saloon and a grocery store, 00:02:40.280 --> 00:02:42.960 get into grain trading, and even start running 00:02:42.960 --> 00:02:44.919 canal boats. Diversifying right from the start. 00:02:45.080 --> 00:02:47.960 Right. He builds a very solid, respectable life. 00:02:48.039 --> 00:02:51.300 But then 1853 hits. The peak of the gold rush. 00:02:51.379 --> 00:02:53.199 The absolute peak. And he decides to pack it 00:02:53.199 --> 00:02:55.879 all up and head west. That decision marks the 00:02:55.879 --> 00:02:58.639 critical pivot of his entire life. Yeah. Because 00:02:58.639 --> 00:03:00.639 he's already a successful businessman at this 00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:03.580 point. Yeah. And he realizes a fundamental economic 00:03:03.580 --> 00:03:07.120 truth about gold rushes. The real sustainable 00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:09.159 wealth isn't in digging for the gold yourself. 00:03:09.520 --> 00:03:12.800 The wealth lies in providing the food, the supplies, 00:03:12.979 --> 00:03:15.979 and the accommodations to the thousands of desperate 00:03:15.979 --> 00:03:17.900 people who are doing the digging. The people 00:03:17.900 --> 00:03:20.580 selling the shovels. Precisely. He recognized 00:03:20.580 --> 00:03:23.879 an untapped market with massive demand and virtually 00:03:23.879 --> 00:03:27.030 zero supply. And the logistics of how he actually 00:03:27.030 --> 00:03:30.110 gets there are fascinating. He sells his businesses 00:03:30.110 --> 00:03:33.969 in Valparaiso, uses the profits to buy four wagons 00:03:33.969 --> 00:03:36.870 and joins a wagon train in Council Bluffs, Iowa. 00:03:37.129 --> 00:03:40.090 Four wagons is a serious investment. It is. But 00:03:40.090 --> 00:03:42.710 he doesn't just pack survival gear. He loads 00:03:42.710 --> 00:03:45.090 two of those wagons specifically with tobacco, 00:03:45.250 --> 00:03:47.969 tea and brandy. Which is just brilliant. I mean, 00:03:47.990 --> 00:03:49.949 I want you to imagine you're risking your life 00:03:49.949 --> 00:03:53.409 crossing the country in 1853, navigating unpaved 00:03:53.409 --> 00:03:56.090 wilderness. Half your cargo is just booze and 00:03:56.090 --> 00:03:58.689 tea. It showcases an incredible understanding 00:03:58.689 --> 00:04:00.770 of value -to -weight ratios. Oh, absolutely. 00:04:01.090 --> 00:04:03.409 In a frontier environment, you can't transport 00:04:03.409 --> 00:04:05.689 bulky, low -margin goods across a continent. 00:04:05.849 --> 00:04:08.669 You need luxury commodities. Tobacco and brandy 00:04:08.669 --> 00:04:12.349 are highly addictive, highly desired, and easily 00:04:12.349 --> 00:04:15.069 transportable items that command a massive premium 00:04:15.069 --> 00:04:18.089 in isolated settlements. He wasn't packing for 00:04:18.089 --> 00:04:21.110 survival. He was packing inventory. Packing inventory 00:04:21.110 --> 00:04:24.480 for a captive market. And the journey was anything 00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:28.120 but smooth. During this five -month trek, Baldwin 00:04:28.120 --> 00:04:31.800 scouts ahead and actually gets lost. Wow. Yeah. 00:04:31.860 --> 00:04:34.379 He is saved from starvation by friendly Native 00:04:34.379 --> 00:04:36.879 Americans who guided him back to his wagon train. 00:04:36.939 --> 00:04:39.660 That is lucky break number one. Seriously. But 00:04:39.660 --> 00:04:42.040 later on, just outside Salt Lake City, the caravan 00:04:42.040 --> 00:04:44.839 is attacked by a different, less friendly group 00:04:44.839 --> 00:04:47.019 of Native Americans, and he barely escapes with 00:04:47.019 --> 00:04:48.980 his life. It was a brutal journey. It really 00:04:48.980 --> 00:04:51.100 was. He finally reaches Salt Lake City, which 00:04:51.100 --> 00:04:52.860 is controlled by the Mormons at the time. And 00:04:52.860 --> 00:04:54.759 this is where his business brain just lights 00:04:54.759 --> 00:04:57.639 up. Salt Lake City was a crucial bottleneck for 00:04:57.639 --> 00:05:00.259 westward expansion. It was one of the few places 00:05:00.259 --> 00:05:02.220 where travelers could restock, which meant there 00:05:02.220 --> 00:05:04.100 was a massive concentration of capital there. 00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:06.819 Exactly. And Baldwin finds a buyer with very 00:05:06.819 --> 00:05:09.899 deep pockets, the brother of Brigham Young. Baldwin 00:05:09.899 --> 00:05:13.300 sells the bulk of his brandy to him for $16 a 00:05:13.300 --> 00:05:17.040 gallon in 1853. That is an astronomical markup. 00:05:17.160 --> 00:05:19.550 Right. Then he sells the tobacco and the tea. 00:05:19.709 --> 00:05:22.389 But rather than just hoarding that cash, he uses 00:05:22.389 --> 00:05:24.769 those profits to buy horses and keeps moving 00:05:24.769 --> 00:05:27.029 toward California. What's fascinating here is 00:05:27.029 --> 00:05:29.370 how he constantly compounds his capital. Yes. 00:05:29.689 --> 00:05:33.089 He takes a high -risk luxury commodity, transports 00:05:33.089 --> 00:05:35.649 it across a dangerous continent, finds a captive 00:05:35.649 --> 00:05:39.009 market, and liquefies his inventory. Then he 00:05:39.009 --> 00:05:41.490 immediately reinvests that cash into transportation. 00:05:42.230 --> 00:05:45.259 Horses. which he knows will be desperately needed 00:05:45.259 --> 00:05:47.579 by the mining camps in California. And it pays 00:05:47.579 --> 00:05:49.819 off immensely. By the time he and his family 00:05:49.819 --> 00:05:52.319 arrive in Hangtown, which we now know as Placerville, 00:05:52.399 --> 00:05:55.040 they are barefoot and completely worn out from 00:05:55.040 --> 00:05:56.639 the journey. They had walked essentially the 00:05:56.639 --> 00:05:59.139 whole way. Yeah, but he turns right around and 00:05:59.139 --> 00:06:02.560 sells those horses in Sacramento for a 400 % 00:06:02.560 --> 00:06:05.649 profit. 400%. He and Sarah more than doubled 00:06:05.649 --> 00:06:07.670 their entire capital while crossing the country. 00:06:07.850 --> 00:06:11.470 So he arrives in San Francisco in 1853, and instead 00:06:11.470 --> 00:06:13.730 of heading to the gold fields... Like everyone 00:06:13.730 --> 00:06:18.029 else. Right. He drops $5 ,000 in cash to buy 00:06:18.029 --> 00:06:20.850 the Temperance Hotel on Pacific Avenue. 30 days 00:06:20.850 --> 00:06:24.949 later, he flips it for a $5 ,000 profit. San 00:06:24.949 --> 00:06:28.129 Francisco in the 1850s was a city made of canvas 00:06:28.129 --> 00:06:30.930 and wood. It was constantly burning down and 00:06:30.930 --> 00:06:33.670 being rebuilt. Real estate and infrastructure 00:06:33.670 --> 00:06:36.670 were the true gold mines. And he taps right into 00:06:36.670 --> 00:06:38.970 that. He's buying liveries, trading goods and 00:06:38.970 --> 00:06:40.709 diving into the San Francisco Stock Exchange. 00:06:41.050 --> 00:06:43.459 He even starts a brick manufacturing plant. Which 00:06:43.459 --> 00:06:45.899 is incredibly smart, given the fires. Exactly. 00:06:45.939 --> 00:06:48.480 Those bricks were used to construct the U .S. 00:06:48.480 --> 00:06:51.240 Mint, Fort Point, and the fort on Alcatraz Island. 00:06:51.519 --> 00:06:54.620 That is the textbook definition of hyperdiversification. 00:06:55.100 --> 00:06:58.060 He wasn't just relying on one sector. No, he 00:06:58.060 --> 00:07:00.680 was everywhere. He was in hospitality, raw materials, 00:07:00.939 --> 00:07:03.420 real estate, and financial markets. He was building 00:07:03.420 --> 00:07:05.300 the physical infrastructure of San Francisco 00:07:05.300 --> 00:07:08.339 with his bricks, while simultaneously trading 00:07:08.339 --> 00:07:10.980 the abstract value of the city on the stock exchange. 00:07:11.259 --> 00:07:13.689 Covering all his bases. If one market crashed, 00:07:14.009 --> 00:07:16.170 his other ventures kept him afloat. Okay, here's 00:07:16.170 --> 00:07:19.430 where it gets really interesting. In 1859, the 00:07:19.430 --> 00:07:21.889 great Comstock load is discovered in Nevada. 00:07:22.230 --> 00:07:24.629 The silver strike. A massive silver deposit. 00:07:25.290 --> 00:07:27.370 Baldwin heads out there with a load of timber, 00:07:27.529 --> 00:07:31.350 sells it, and buys a livery. Along the way, he 00:07:31.350 --> 00:07:33.990 takes a payment for a debt in the form of 2 ,000 00:07:33.990 --> 00:07:36.569 shares of the Ofer mine, which were worth just 00:07:36.569 --> 00:07:38.910 a few cents a share at the time. Pennies, really? 00:07:39.319 --> 00:07:41.480 Using his profits, he slowly starts investing 00:07:41.480 --> 00:07:45.100 in more mines, Hale and Norcross, Woofer and 00:07:45.100 --> 00:07:48.680 Crown Point. Now, the sources mention that these 00:07:48.680 --> 00:07:51.779 mining veins were sold by the foot at the time. 00:07:51.800 --> 00:07:54.620 What does that actually mean? Like buying fabric 00:07:54.620 --> 00:07:57.040 at a craft store? It is a big counterintuitive 00:07:57.040 --> 00:08:00.180 for us today. During the Comstock era, you didn't 00:08:00.180 --> 00:08:02.439 always buy a standard percentage of a company 00:08:02.439 --> 00:08:05.129 like you do now. Okay. You were literally buying 00:08:05.129 --> 00:08:08.269 linear feet of the quartz vein underground. Oh, 00:08:08.269 --> 00:08:10.810 wow. Right. So if a mining claim was 1 ,000 feet 00:08:10.810 --> 00:08:13.490 long along the vein, they would issue 1 ,000 00:08:13.490 --> 00:08:16.470 shares, each representing one foot of that specific 00:08:16.470 --> 00:08:19.009 vein. So it's tied to the actual physical geography. 00:08:19.050 --> 00:08:20.970 Exactly. When you bought a foot, you were betting 00:08:20.970 --> 00:08:23.490 that the silver extended deeply and richly into 00:08:23.490 --> 00:08:26.250 the earth at that specific spot. It was highly 00:08:26.250 --> 00:08:28.930 speculative. Essentially a 19th century casino. 00:08:29.399 --> 00:08:31.579 And while he's navigating this underground casino, 00:08:31.920 --> 00:08:34.299 he meets a group of British sportsmen in San 00:08:34.299 --> 00:08:36.899 Francisco who casually invite him to join them 00:08:36.899 --> 00:08:39.759 on a big game safari in India. Because why not? 00:08:39.940 --> 00:08:43.059 Right. Baldwin decides he needs a vacation. He 00:08:43.059 --> 00:08:46.019 sells his livery, packs his bags, and prepares 00:08:46.019 --> 00:08:48.740 to leave the country for months. But before he 00:08:48.740 --> 00:08:51.220 goes, he leaves very strict instructions with 00:08:51.220 --> 00:08:54.059 his broker regarding his Hale and Norcross stock. 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:57.330 This is a crucial detail. He says, If the stock 00:08:57.330 --> 00:09:00.129 falls below $800 a foot, sell it immediately. 00:09:00.429 --> 00:09:03.750 That is a standard stock loss order. In modern 00:09:03.750 --> 00:09:06.350 terms, it's an automatic trigger designed to 00:09:06.350 --> 00:09:08.710 limit an investor's loss. Right, to protect his 00:09:08.710 --> 00:09:11.590 profits. Exactly. If the price drops to a certain 00:09:11.590 --> 00:09:14.090 point, the asset is sold before it can lose any 00:09:14.090 --> 00:09:17.159 more value. Very prudent for a man leaving the 00:09:17.159 --> 00:09:19.960 country with no way to monitor the markets. Very 00:09:19.960 --> 00:09:22.639 smart. So he leaves, but his trip goes a little 00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:25.159 off the rails. Instead of India, he ends up in 00:09:25.159 --> 00:09:27.799 Japan. Which is a pretty big detour. A massive 00:09:27.799 --> 00:09:30.620 detour. He meets a troop of Japanese entertainers 00:09:30.620 --> 00:09:33.509 in Tokyo. gets completely distracted by a new 00:09:33.509 --> 00:09:35.789 business idea, and decides to bring them back 00:09:35.789 --> 00:09:37.470 to New York to become a vaudeville producer. 00:09:37.669 --> 00:09:39.830 He was a true opportunist. It just goes to show 00:09:39.830 --> 00:09:43.389 how easily distracted he was by shiny new ventures, 00:09:43.429 --> 00:09:46.090 even when he had a fortune tied up back home. 00:09:46.230 --> 00:09:48.830 Right. So by the time he finally returns to San 00:09:48.830 --> 00:09:52.450 Francisco, he checks in on his stocks. He discovers 00:09:52.450 --> 00:09:55.909 that the price had, in fact, plummeted way below 00:09:55.909 --> 00:09:58.809 that $800 threshold he set. So the broker obviously 00:09:58.809 --> 00:10:02.269 sold, right? He tried to. But he couldn't. Why 00:10:02.269 --> 00:10:04.809 not? Before Baldwin left on this massive trip, 00:10:05.009 --> 00:10:07.169 he had locked the physical stock certificates 00:10:07.169 --> 00:10:10.570 in a safe. And he accidentally took the key to 00:10:10.570 --> 00:10:12.970 that safe with him to Japan. He took the key 00:10:12.970 --> 00:10:16.049 on vacation? Yes. The broker could not physically 00:10:16.049 --> 00:10:18.409 access the shares to hand them over to a buyer. 00:10:18.590 --> 00:10:21.549 That is insane. But here's the punchline. Because 00:10:21.549 --> 00:10:24.210 the broker couldn't sell during the panic, Baldwin 00:10:24.210 --> 00:10:26.269 was forced to hold the stock. And the market 00:10:26.269 --> 00:10:29.490 rebounded. Completely rebounded. They hit a massive 00:10:29.490 --> 00:10:33.629 new ore body in the mine and the stock skyrocketed. 00:10:33.850 --> 00:10:36.429 Because he made a careless packing error, he 00:10:36.429 --> 00:10:40.210 netted an estimated $2 .5 million profit. Wow. 00:10:40.509 --> 00:10:43.629 Which is roughly equivalent to $90 million today. 00:10:44.169 --> 00:10:47.809 $90 million because of a misplaced key. If we 00:10:47.809 --> 00:10:50.269 connect this to the bigger picture, this is the 00:10:50.269 --> 00:10:53.840 exact moment. Elias Baldwin truly becomes Lucky 00:10:53.840 --> 00:10:56.659 Baldwin. I can see why. A massive logistical 00:10:56.659 --> 00:10:59.460 error completely insulated him from a market 00:10:59.460 --> 00:11:01.600 crash and allowed him to ride the subsequent 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:04.700 boom. It provided him with an unprecedented amount 00:11:04.700 --> 00:11:07.639 of capital, but more importantly, it cemented 00:11:07.639 --> 00:11:10.429 a psychological reputation. The mythology of 00:11:10.429 --> 00:11:12.529 Lucky Baldwin. Right. When the financial world 00:11:12.529 --> 00:11:15.610 believes you possess supernatural luck, doors 00:11:15.610 --> 00:11:17.350 open for you. People want to invest with you. 00:11:17.370 --> 00:11:19.049 They want you involved in their deals. And he 00:11:19.049 --> 00:11:21.230 certainly walks through those doors. With this 00:11:21.230 --> 00:11:23.789 new fortune, he easily survives bank failures 00:11:23.789 --> 00:11:27.549 that wipe out other businessmen. In 1876, he 00:11:27.549 --> 00:11:29.669 builds the opulent Baldwin Hotel and Theater 00:11:29.669 --> 00:11:31.970 in San Francisco. A legendary building. Then 00:11:31.970 --> 00:11:35.169 in 1880, he's up in Lake Tahoe and buys a gorgeous 00:11:35.169 --> 00:11:38.090 resort out of foreclosure, renaming it the Talac 00:11:38.090 --> 00:11:41.600 House. But he doesn't stop there. The landscape 00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:43.940 of California is shifting and he moves his sights 00:11:43.940 --> 00:11:46.860 to Southern California. The acquisition of Rancho 00:11:46.860 --> 00:11:50.200 Santa Anita in 1875 is a foundational moment 00:11:50.200 --> 00:11:52.779 for modern Los Angeles geography. It really is. 00:11:52.919 --> 00:11:54.940 He shifts from urban infrastructure in the north 00:11:54.940 --> 00:11:58.120 to massive land acquisition in the south. And 00:11:58.120 --> 00:12:00.960 the story of how he bought it feels like a scene 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:03.960 from a movie. He wants this fertile land in the 00:12:03.960 --> 00:12:06.419 San Gabriel Valley, which is owned by a man named 00:12:06.419 --> 00:12:09.870 Harris Newmark. Right. Baldwin offers $150 ,000. 00:12:10.269 --> 00:12:13.370 Newmark counters demanding $200 ,000. Baldwin 00:12:13.370 --> 00:12:16.129 balks at the premium price. But his lawyer, Reuben 00:12:16.129 --> 00:12:18.549 Lloyd, tells him to stop agonizing and just pay 00:12:18.549 --> 00:12:20.250 it before the region booms and the price goes 00:12:20.250 --> 00:12:22.850 up even more. Good advice. So Baldwin walks into 00:12:22.850 --> 00:12:25.330 the next meeting carrying a tin box. Just a tin 00:12:25.330 --> 00:12:28.129 box. Just a tin box. Inside that box are several 00:12:28.129 --> 00:12:30.809 million dollars in cash. Incredible. He casually 00:12:30.809 --> 00:12:34.309 pulls out $12 ,500 for the down payment and just 00:12:34.309 --> 00:12:37.000 buys the ranch on the spot. It is the ultimate 00:12:37.000 --> 00:12:39.419 display of leverage. And it was just the beginning. 00:12:39.679 --> 00:12:41.980 He kept buying land across Southern California, 00:12:42.279 --> 00:12:45.080 especially when a bank he invested in failed 00:12:45.080 --> 00:12:47.480 and he acquired even more properties through 00:12:47.480 --> 00:12:50.659 default. He was relentless. He eventually amassed 00:12:50.659 --> 00:12:54.019 over 63 ,000 acres of land. For you listening, 00:12:54.139 --> 00:12:57.340 if you look at a map of modern Los Angeles, you're 00:12:57.340 --> 00:12:59.879 looking at Baldwin's legacy. Literally driving 00:12:59.879 --> 00:13:02.980 through his old property. Yes. As massive numbers 00:13:02.980 --> 00:13:04.899 of people moved to Southern California in the 00:13:04.899 --> 00:13:08.600 1880s, he subdivided his land. He created the 00:13:08.600 --> 00:13:11.820 towns of Arcadia and Monrovia. Wow. The community 00:13:11.820 --> 00:13:14.519 of Baldwin Hills was carved out of his La Cienega 00:13:14.519 --> 00:13:17.279 Rancho. The city of Sierra Madre sits on land 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:19.940 he owned. He became the largest employer and 00:13:19.940 --> 00:13:22.360 the largest taxpayer in all of Los Angeles County. 00:13:22.539 --> 00:13:25.980 He amassed all this land, but 63 ,000 acres of 00:13:25.980 --> 00:13:28.299 raw California wilderness doesn't just manage 00:13:28.299 --> 00:13:30.860 itself. No, it does not. To build his empire, 00:13:31.080 --> 00:13:33.679 he needed an army of laborers, which brings up 00:13:33.679 --> 00:13:36.200 a really complex part of his history based on 00:13:36.200 --> 00:13:38.100 our sources. Right. It's a very nuanced topic. 00:13:38.279 --> 00:13:42.000 It is. During a time of rampant open discrimination 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:45.600 in American society, Baldwin was incredibly diverse 00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:48.440 in his hiring. He employed Chinese workers, famously 00:13:48.440 --> 00:13:50.759 telling a reporter they were the most reliable 00:13:50.759 --> 00:13:52.820 laborers he could get. That's just controversial 00:13:52.820 --> 00:13:55.610 at the time. Very. He made headlines for hiring 00:13:55.610 --> 00:13:57.710 African -American workers from North Carolina 00:13:57.710 --> 00:13:59.789 and actually paying for their train tickets out 00:13:59.789 --> 00:14:02.470 to California. He also employed Native American 00:14:02.470 --> 00:14:05.529 and Mexican workers. But the historical sources 00:14:05.529 --> 00:14:07.990 are very explicit about a major caveat here. 00:14:08.490 --> 00:14:10.809 Despite hiring all these non -white employees, 00:14:11.250 --> 00:14:14.049 he paid them very little. Yes. That's a tough 00:14:14.049 --> 00:14:15.950 thing to square. So he's paying for their cross 00:14:15.950 --> 00:14:18.269 -country train tickets, which seems progressive 00:14:18.269 --> 00:14:21.289 on the surface, but our sources indicate it was 00:14:21.289 --> 00:14:23.549 ultimately a cynical way to get cheap labor. 00:14:23.830 --> 00:14:25.830 This raises an important question about Boomtown 00:14:25.830 --> 00:14:29.409 economics. We have to view his actions through 00:14:29.409 --> 00:14:31.830 the lens of his overarching strategy, which was 00:14:31.830 --> 00:14:34.710 driven entirely by the bottom line. Right. Impartially 00:14:34.710 --> 00:14:38.000 speaking, it was about money. Purely. He needed 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:40.759 massive amounts of labor to build and maintain 00:14:40.759 --> 00:14:43.899 an agricultural empire that rivaled a small country 00:14:43.899 --> 00:14:47.519 by utilizing marginalized populations who face 00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:50.200 severe discrimination elsewhere and had very 00:14:50.200 --> 00:14:53.059 few economic options. He could negotiate significantly 00:14:53.059 --> 00:14:56.019 lower wages. So it was leverage again. Exactly. 00:14:56.700 --> 00:14:59.100 Paying for a train ticket up front was a calculated 00:14:59.100 --> 00:15:01.919 capital expenditure that guaranteed him a captive, 00:15:02.059 --> 00:15:04.960 low -cost workforce upon arrival. It kept his 00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:07.940 overhead incredibly low, which maximized his 00:15:07.940 --> 00:15:10.679 profits. Squeezing every penny out of his business, 00:15:10.860 --> 00:15:13.600 yet in his personal life, he was the exact opposite. 00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:16.139 Oh, completely. He was flamboyant, spending money 00:15:16.139 --> 00:15:17.879 freely, especially when it came to his romantic 00:15:17.879 --> 00:15:20.789 life. One contemporary of his actually noted, 00:15:20.909 --> 00:15:23.070 Baldwin didn't run after women, they ran after 00:15:23.070 --> 00:15:26.029 him. And this lifestyle brought absolute chaos. 00:15:26.429 --> 00:15:28.350 His matrimonial history alone was a constant 00:15:28.350 --> 00:15:30.370 source of public sensation and legal trouble. 00:15:30.549 --> 00:15:33.090 He was married four times. His first two ended 00:15:33.090 --> 00:15:36.049 in divorce. His third wife, Jenny Dexter, was 00:15:36.049 --> 00:15:38.330 just 16 years old when they married. Very young. 00:15:38.769 --> 00:15:41.330 Tragically, she died of tuberculosis at age 23. 00:15:42.250 --> 00:15:45.250 Then his fourth wife, Lily Bennett, was also 00:15:45.250 --> 00:15:48.029 16 years old. And sources point out she was a 00:15:48.029 --> 00:15:50.570 dead ringer for Jenny. Which is quite a detail. 00:15:50.769 --> 00:15:53.450 Yeah. They separated after less than two years, 00:15:53.509 --> 00:15:56.409 though they never officially divorced. And as 00:15:56.409 --> 00:15:59.590 he got older, the scandals just piled up. He 00:15:59.590 --> 00:16:02.210 was sued by four different women for breach of 00:16:02.210 --> 00:16:04.870 promise of marriage. A very common lawsuit of 00:16:04.870 --> 00:16:06.750 the era. Well, for those listening who might 00:16:06.750 --> 00:16:09.750 not be familiar with 19th century law, what exactly 00:16:09.750 --> 00:16:12.840 is a breach of promise lawsuit? today if an engagement 00:16:12.840 --> 00:16:15.580 is called off, it's just a personal matter. But 00:16:15.580 --> 00:16:17.940 in the 19th century, an agreement to marry was 00:16:17.940 --> 00:16:20.139 viewed much more strictly as a binding legal 00:16:20.139 --> 00:16:23.879 contract. Really? Yes. If a man promised to marry 00:16:23.879 --> 00:16:26.500 a woman and then backed out, the woman could 00:16:26.500 --> 00:16:29.120 sue him for financial damages, citing the loss 00:16:29.120 --> 00:16:31.820 of social standing and economic security. Wow. 00:16:32.200 --> 00:16:34.799 And Baldwin found himself on the receiving end 00:16:34.799 --> 00:16:37.220 of these lawsuits constantly. In one case, a 00:16:37.220 --> 00:16:39.879 16 -year -old girl sued him and was awarded $75 00:16:39.879 --> 00:16:43.159 ,000 in damages. That was a massive sum back 00:16:43.159 --> 00:16:45.720 then. The press covered his life coast to coast. 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:49.129 But it wasn't just tabloid fodder. It was dangerous. 00:16:49.450 --> 00:16:52.129 The legal battles often spilled over into actual 00:16:52.129 --> 00:16:55.029 violence. The frontier justice mentality often 00:16:55.029 --> 00:16:57.590 crept into these personal disputes. To say the 00:16:57.590 --> 00:17:01.570 least. In 1883, a woman named Fanny Verona Baldwin, 00:17:01.809 --> 00:17:04.589 who had accused him of breach of promise and 00:17:04.589 --> 00:17:06.750 later stated she was the victim of an assault 00:17:06.750 --> 00:17:09.529 shot and wounded him with a pistol right inside 00:17:09.529 --> 00:17:12.450 his own luxury Baldwin Hotel in San Francisco. 00:17:12.529 --> 00:17:14.740 Right in his own lobby. And if you can believe 00:17:14.740 --> 00:17:17.299 it, he narrowly escaped death again in a courtroom 00:17:17.299 --> 00:17:21.400 in 1896. He was being sued by a woman named Lillian 00:17:21.400 --> 00:17:23.559 Ashley. The courtroom scene is something out 00:17:23.559 --> 00:17:26.000 of a pulp novel. It really is. Lillian is on 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:28.140 the witness stand testifying. Baldwin is sitting 00:17:28.140 --> 00:17:30.859 at the defense table. Suddenly, Lillian's sister, 00:17:31.059 --> 00:17:33.720 Emma Ashley, walks up behind Baldwin right in 00:17:33.720 --> 00:17:36.000 the middle of the crowded courtroom. She pulls 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:38.339 out a pistol and fires at his head. The bullet 00:17:38.339 --> 00:17:41.230 grazes his skull. He survives by a matter of 00:17:41.230 --> 00:17:43.890 inches. The fact that he survived all of this, 00:17:43.990 --> 00:17:47.109 the treacherous frontier journeys, the native 00:17:47.109 --> 00:17:50.450 attacks, the stock crashes, and the literal assassination 00:17:50.450 --> 00:17:54.349 attempts is just astounding. He lived nine lives. 00:17:54.630 --> 00:17:57.869 He really did. Yeah. Yet amidst all this personal 00:17:57.869 --> 00:17:59.890 chaos and near -death experiences, he managed 00:17:59.890 --> 00:18:01.869 to build a cultural legacy that exists to this 00:18:01.869 --> 00:18:05.309 day. Thoroughbred Racing. Oh, he was a giant 00:18:05.309 --> 00:18:08.470 in that world. He bred and raced some of the 00:18:08.470 --> 00:18:10.829 top horses in the country under the name Santa 00:18:10.829 --> 00:18:13.569 Anita Stable. Legendary stable. His horses won 00:18:13.569 --> 00:18:15.829 the prestigious American Doobie four different 00:18:15.829 --> 00:18:18.769 times. He founded the original Santa Anita Park 00:18:18.769 --> 00:18:22.150 racetrack right on his estate. He was such a 00:18:22.150 --> 00:18:25.230 towering figure in that sport that in 2018, he 00:18:25.230 --> 00:18:27.490 was voted into the National Museum of Racing 00:18:27.490 --> 00:18:29.829 and Hall of Fame as a pillar of the turf. That's 00:18:29.829 --> 00:18:32.829 a huge honor. Also, just a wild historical crossover. 00:18:33.319 --> 00:18:35.480 for you out there listening. The famous lawman 00:18:35.480 --> 00:18:37.960 Wyatt Earp and his wife Josephine were reportedly 00:18:37.960 --> 00:18:40.680 married by a captain aboard Lucky Baldwin's personal 00:18:40.680 --> 00:18:43.160 yacht. That detail really illustrates the circles 00:18:43.160 --> 00:18:45.359 he ran in. It really does. Baldwin wasn't just 00:18:45.359 --> 00:18:48.339 a businessman. He was the center of gravity for 00:18:48.339 --> 00:18:51.359 the wealth, the power, and the sheer mythology 00:18:51.359 --> 00:18:54.880 of the American West. The outlaws, the lawmen, 00:18:54.940 --> 00:18:57.940 the politicians, they all intersected with his 00:18:57.940 --> 00:19:01.599 empire. So what does this all mean? We look at 00:19:01.599 --> 00:19:03.940 a man who lived at 100 miles an hour until the 00:19:03.940 --> 00:19:06.960 very end. Never slowed down. During the 1890s, 00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:09.299 his wealth did diminish a bit due to national 00:19:09.299 --> 00:19:11.900 economic depressions, but he kept his interest 00:19:11.900 --> 00:19:14.359 in horse racing and poker. He finally passed 00:19:14.359 --> 00:19:17.660 away on March 1st, 1909 at the age of 80 at his 00:19:17.660 --> 00:19:20.359 Arcadia Ranch, surrounded by friends and family. 00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:24.119 And here is the final unbelievable twist of luck 00:19:24.119 --> 00:19:26.599 that truly seals his legacy. I love this part. 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:29.380 When Baldwin died, the massive land estate he 00:19:29.380 --> 00:19:31.440 left behind was considered relatively worthless. 00:19:31.640 --> 00:19:34.000 It was largely undeveloped agricultural land 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:36.319 managed by his longtime friend. Right. But exactly 00:19:36.319 --> 00:19:39.359 10 years after he died in 1919, they discovered 00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:42.180 oil on that land. Of course they did. It became 00:19:42.180 --> 00:19:45.079 the Montebello oil fields, which grew to be one 00:19:45.079 --> 00:19:47.380 of the biggest in the West. eventually producing 00:19:47.380 --> 00:19:49.839 one -eighth of all the crude oil in California. 00:19:50.279 --> 00:19:53.359 So even a decade after his death, his long -term 00:19:53.359 --> 00:19:56.019 investments quite literally struck oil. It is 00:19:56.019 --> 00:19:57.880 unbelievable. He came out for the gold rush, 00:19:58.059 --> 00:20:00.819 skipped the gold to sell supplies, and ends up 00:20:00.819 --> 00:20:02.880 hitting oil after he's already gone. A condition 00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:05.900 of lucky. Truly. Thank you so much for joining 00:20:05.900 --> 00:20:08.599 us on this deep dive into the life of Lucky Baldwin. 00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:12.160 It is a story that forces us to look at the foundations 00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:15.079 of American wealth. Absolutely. Baldwin built 00:20:15.079 --> 00:20:18.150 his empire. by taking wild risks, capitalizing 00:20:18.150 --> 00:20:20.849 on other people's frantic gold rushes, and relying 00:20:20.849 --> 00:20:23.630 on incredibly fortuitous mistakes. Like losing 00:20:23.630 --> 00:20:26.089 a key. Right. But it really leaves you with a 00:20:26.089 --> 00:20:28.849 provocative thought to mull over. If society 00:20:28.849 --> 00:20:31.589 didn't have these wildly chaotic, high -risk 00:20:31.589 --> 00:20:33.569 frontiersmen pushing the absolute boundaries 00:20:33.569 --> 00:20:35.849 of the economy, would modern cities like Los 00:20:35.849 --> 00:20:38.329 Angeles or San Francisco even exist in the way 00:20:38.329 --> 00:20:41.230 we know them today? Is massive, landscape -altering 00:20:41.230 --> 00:20:43.809 progress always built on the back of massive 00:20:43.809 --> 00:20:46.329 chaos? It's a great question. Keep wondering, 00:20:46.470 --> 00:20:49.069 keep learning, and we'll see you on the next 00:20:49.069 --> 00:20:50.029 deep dive.