George Hearst

• Born: September 3, 1820
• Birthplace: Franklin County, Missouri
• Died: February 28, 1891
• Place of death: Washington, D.C.

American mining magnate and politician

Hearst made his fortune by prospecting the California gold mines. His acquisition of the San Francisco Examiner would eventually enable his son, William Randolph Hearst, to become one of the most powerful newspaper publishers of the twentieth century.

Source of wealth: Mining

Bequeathal of wealth: Spouse; children

Early Life

George Hearst, the son of William G. and Elizabeth Collins Hearst, was born on September 3, 1820, on his parents’ farm near Sullivan, Missouri. He was the oldest of three children. Starting at an early age, Hearst worked on the family farm. He had little public education but was schooled by his mother. He enjoyed reading books about mining that he borrowed from the family doctor, Silas Reed, who was also a lead miner.

In 1846, when Hearst was twenty-six, his father died, leaving the family $10,000 in debt. Hearst opened a small general store and leased and mined lead and copper mines. Within two years he had earned enough money to pay off his father’s creditors.

First Ventures

Hearst first heard about gold in California in 1849, and in 1850 he set out for California with sixteen other men, including his cousins Joseph and Jacob Clark. At first, the group tried placer mining near Sutter’s Mill, but after a cold winter with little to show for their efforts they moved on to Grass Valley, California. Here Hearst established the Merrimac Hill and the Potosi Mines, which he sold in 1852 for a healthy profit. Hearst and his cousins continued to discover ore lodes and then sell them, continuously making profits.

In 1857, Hearst discovered and established the LeCompton Mine near Nevada City, California. Two years later, he moved on to the Washoe Diggings in Nevada, where he bought a share of the Gold and Curry Mine for $450. He continued to prospect silver and gold and bought a one-sixth share of the Ophir Mine for about $300. He solved the problem of how to separate gold and silver from the ore in these mines. News of his success spread and miners flocked to the area, which was to become known as the Comstock Lode. Almost overnight, Hearst was a millionaire.

Mature Wealth

Hearst established Hearst, Haggin, Tevis & Co., and this firm eventually owned interests in mines in Nevada, Utah, South Dakota, Montana, and Peru. His Ontario Mine in Utah alone paid dividends of more than $1 million a year. His firm became the largest mining company in the United States. Although he had become one of the wealthiest men in America, Hearst still dressed in casual clothing and enjoyed his poker games, liquor, and cigars.

In 1860, when he was forty years old, Hearst returned to Missouri to be with his dying mother. There he met nineteen-year-old Phoebe Elizabeth Apperson. Her parents objected to Hearst because of his age, so the two eloped on June 15, 1862, and they moved to San Francisco, California. They had one son, William Randolph Hearst, born on April 29, 1863.

Hearst was elected to and served in the California Assembly from 1865 to 1866. He purchased a forty-eight-thousand-acre ranch in San Simeon, California, and built a home there for his family. In 1887, Hearst was elected to the U.S. Senate and moved to Washington, D.C. He died on February 28, 1891, while still serving his Senate term.

Legacy

George Hearst had a major influence on mining in the United States. His Homestake Gold Mine in South Dakota became the most productive gold mine in the United States, and his Montana Anaconda Copper Mine produced 20 percent of the world’s copper supply by the turn of the century.

Perhaps his greatest legacy, however, arose from his acquisition of the San Francisco Examiner as payment for a gambling debt in 1880. In 1887, his son William Randolph Hearst, who had an interest in journalism, asked his father if he could run the newspaper. George Hearst agreed, with trepidation. His son eventually developed the Hearst publishing empire that had enormous influence on American politics and existed into the twenty-first century, owning newspapers, magazines, and cable television networks. In 2008, the media empire was run by George Hearst, Jr., George Hearst’s great-grandson, who was ranked 215 on Forbes magazine list of the four hundred richest Americans, with an estimated net worth of $2.1 billion.

Bibliography

Nasaw, David. The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst. Boston: Mariner Books, 2001.

Older, Fremont, and Mrs. Fremont Older. George Hearst: California Pioneer. Reprint. Los Angeles: Westernlore, 1966.

United States Congress. Memorial Addresses on the Life and Character of George Hearst. Charleston, S.C.: Bibliolife, 2009.