Our Legacy
Over a century ago, Spencer Trask bet on bold ideas and brilliant minds—a spark that still drives us. His vision lives on, fueling a legacy that inspires today’s pioneers. We back the innovators shaping tomorrow, turning groundbreaking ideas into investments that light up the world.
Illuminating the World
Mr. Trask supported Thomas Edison’s invention of the light bulb – the very symbol of a good idea. When Edison finally got it to work, Mr. Trask became president of the first electric company (now Consolidated Edison) for 14 years. In light of his pioneering efforts in the electrification of the U.S., it is fitting to say that Trask helped launch the Modern Age.
Saving the New York Times
Mr. Trask bought 100% of The New York Times on August 13, 1896 and hired Adolph Ochs to build the world’s most influential newspaper. The Ochs Sulzberger family controls The Times to this day.
“The sale took place on August 13 at noon in the New York Real Estate Exchange across from Trinity Church and went off quietly. As a legal formality, Spencer Trask, as head of the reorganization committee, made a $75,000 bid for the old Times, and it was knocked down to him. There were no other bidders.” (The San Francisco Examiner Magazine: The Birth of the World’s Greatest Newspaper p.21, January 16, 2000)
Rating the Financial Markets
Mr. Trask hired John Moody to set up the stock and bond statistical analysis service that became Moody’s Investor Service. Today, Moody’s monitors corporate giants and nations alike as the rating agency for the world.
Launching the Wireless Communication Industry
The discovery of radio transmission by Guglielmo Marconi kicked off a century of wireless broadcast innovation. At the beginning of wireless communications industry, Spencer Trask & Co. underwrote Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company. Notably, Mr. Trask, listed under Marconi himself in the prospectus, served on the board of directors.
Founding the Music Recording Industry
To fund the Edison Phonograph Company, investors were given the “opportunity to see the potential working of the Phonograph” by visiting the Manhattan office of Spencer Trask & Co.
Nurturing Creative Minds
Mr. Trask and his wife, Katrina, were significant supporters of the arts. Trask himself served as the first treasurer of the National Arts Club, as patron of the Municipal Art Society of New York and and a member of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In addition, the Trasks turned their 400-acre Saratoga Springs, New York estate into a retreat for artists and writers called Yaddo. It has supported the most creative people in America over the past century – those artists have collectively amassed 61 Pulitzer Prizes, 56 National Book Awards, 22 National Book Critics
