John Warne Gates (May 18, 1855 – August 9, 1911), also known as "Bet-a-Million" Gates, was a pioneer promoter of
barbed wireBarbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
who became a
Gilded AgeIn American history, the Gilded Age refers to substantial growth in population in the United States and extravagant displays of wealth and excess of America's upper-class during the post-Civil War and post-Reconstruction era, in the late 19th century...
industrialist. Gates was born in
Winfield, IllinoisWinfield is an incorporated village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,718 at the 2000 census, and estimated to be 9,844 in 2005.Winfield is home to Central DuPage Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in the Chicago suburbs...
and married Delora R. Baker of
St. Charles, IllinoisSt. Charles is a distant Chicago suburb in Kane and DuPage counties of Illinois, United States, and is roughly west of Chicago on Illinois Route 64. According to a 2004 census estimate, the city has a total population of 32,134. The official city slogan is Pride of the Fox, after the Fox River...
in 1874. The couple had one son,
Charles Gilbert GatesCharles Gilbert Gates of Minneapolis, Minnesota, owned the first home in the United States with air conditioning in 1914. He was the son of John Warne Gates, also known as "Bet-a-Million" Gates.-Biography:...
.
Gates' career began with a trip to
San Antonio, TexasSan Antonio is the second-largest city in the state of Texas and the seventh-largest city in the United States. The city is characteristic of other Southwest urban centers in which there are sparsely populated areas and a low density rate outside of the city. It was the fourth-fastest growing...
in 1876 when Isaac Ellwood hired him as a salesman for the Washburn-Moen barbed wire company, and a dramatic demonstration with cattle penned into
Military PlazaThe Military Plaza in San Antonio dates back to the eighteenth century as a military and commercial center in San Antonio....
.
John Warne Gates (May 18, 1855 – August 9, 1911), also known as "Bet-a-Million" Gates, was a pioneer promoter of
barbed wireBarbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
who became a
Gilded AgeIn American history, the Gilded Age refers to substantial growth in population in the United States and extravagant displays of wealth and excess of America's upper-class during the post-Civil War and post-Reconstruction era, in the late 19th century...
industrialist. Gates was born in
Winfield, IllinoisWinfield is an incorporated village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,718 at the 2000 census, and estimated to be 9,844 in 2005.Winfield is home to Central DuPage Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in the Chicago suburbs...
and married Delora R. Baker of
St. Charles, IllinoisSt. Charles is a distant Chicago suburb in Kane and DuPage counties of Illinois, United States, and is roughly west of Chicago on Illinois Route 64. According to a 2004 census estimate, the city has a total population of 32,134. The official city slogan is Pride of the Fox, after the Fox River...
in 1874. The couple had one son,
Charles Gilbert GatesCharles Gilbert Gates of Minneapolis, Minnesota, owned the first home in the United States with air conditioning in 1914. He was the son of John Warne Gates, also known as "Bet-a-Million" Gates.-Biography:...
.
Biography
Gates' career began with a trip to
San Antonio, TexasSan Antonio is the second-largest city in the state of Texas and the seventh-largest city in the United States. The city is characteristic of other Southwest urban centers in which there are sparsely populated areas and a low density rate outside of the city. It was the fourth-fastest growing...
in 1876 when Isaac Ellwood hired him as a salesman for the Washburn-Moen barbed wire company, and a dramatic demonstration with cattle penned into
Military PlazaThe Military Plaza in San Antonio dates back to the eighteenth century as a military and commercial center in San Antonio....
. He later started the Southern Wire Company of
St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. With an estimated population of 354,361 in 2008, it is the principal municipality of Greater St. Louis, population 2,866,517, the largest urban area in Missouri and sixteenth largest in the United States...
. With the help of Chicago attorney Elbert H. Gary he created a monopoly in the US wire industry in 1898 with American Steel and Wire Company, which was sold in 1901 to J.P. Morgan in a deal (also negotiated by Gary) to become part of the new
U.S. SteelThe United States Steel Corporation , more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States, Canada, and Central Europe. The company is the world's tenth largest steel producer ranked by sales...
conglomerate.
Gates was a founder of the The Texas Company which became the
TexacoTexaco is the name of an American oil retail brand. Its flagship product is its fuel,"Texaco with Techron". It also owns the Havoline motor oil brand....
oil company. He became influential in the development of the city of
Port Arthur, TexasPort Arthur is a city in Jefferson County within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area of the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 57,755 at the 2000 census.-Geography and history:...
when he took over the
Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf RailroadThe Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad was a predecessor to the Kansas City Southern Railway that was started by Arthur Stilwell in 1897....
in December 1899 after he forced it into bankruptcy along with its previous owner and Port Arthur founder Arthur Edward Stilwell.
In a 1900 horse race in England, Gates won $600,000 on a $70,000 bet, which rumors escalated to over $1 million and conferred on him the nickname "Bet-A-Million".
A compulsive gambler, he once participated in a marathon poker game on a train journey from Chicago to New York. After a week of nearly constant play (meals were taken at the poker table), the match ended with about half a million dollars changing hands.
Another story of Gates's gambling proclivities tells of his betting a million dollars on which of two raindrops on a window would reach the bottom first. He lost.
Gates died in Paris, France, following an unsuccessful operation to remove a throat tumor. His funeral was held in the ballroom of the
Plaza HotelThe Plaza Hotel in New York City is a landmark 20-story luxury hotel with a height of and length of that occupies the west side of Grand Army Plaza, from which it derives its name, and extends along Central Park South in Manhattan...
in New York. The Gates Memorial Library in Port Arthur was funded by his widow and donated to the city in 1918. Originally the city's public library, Gates Memorial now serves as the campus library for
Lamar State College–Port ArthurLamar State College–Port Arthur is a community college located in Port Arthur, Texas, United States. The college has around 2,500 students.-History:...
.
External links