We strive to live up to Mr. Spencer Trask’s legacy. He financed Edison, led the electrification of the world, established The New York Times, backed the launch of both the music and the wireless industries, ran a preeminent investment banking firm, and was a devoted patron of the arts.
Lighting up the World
Mr. Trask was among the earliest backers of Thomas Edison, providing the capital that turned the incandescent light bulb from laboratory experiment into commercial reality. Edison went on to name Mr. Trask president of the world’s first electricity company. The impact of this is hard to overstate as electrification laid the foundation for modern civilization.
Controlling of The New York Times
In 1896, Mr. Trask bought 100% of The New York Times, the beginning of the most respected news publisher. Mr. Trask, as chairman, hired Adolph S. Ochs as publisher who turned The New York Times into arguably the most influential publication in the world.
“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.”
Source: The San Francisco Examiner; “The Birth of the World’s Greatest Newspaper.”
Rating the Financial Markets
Trask also hired John Moody to set up the statistical analysis service that became Moody’s Investor Service. Today, Moody’s monitors corporate giants and nations as a leading rating agency.
Launching Wireless Communication
The discovery of radio transmission by Guglielmo Marconi kicked off a century of wireless broadcast innovation. At its nascent stage, Spencer Trask & Co. underwrote the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company, where Mr. Trask served on the Board, listed in the prospectus next to Edison and directly under Marconi himself.
The Beginning of the Music Industry
Mr. Trask also supported the music industry at the outset. The prospectus for the Edison Phonograph Company offered investors the “opportunity to see the potential working of the Phonograph” by visiting the Manhattan office of Spencer Trask & Co.
Supporting Creative Minds
Not only did Mr. Spencer Trask back inventors and entrepreneurs, he and his wife, Katrina, were significant supporters of the arts. He served as the first treasurer of the National Arts Club, and was a patron and member of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In addition, the Trasks turned their 400-acre Saratoga Springs, New York estate into a community for artists and writers called Yaddo. Its thousands of artists have collectively amassed 61 Pulitzer Prizes, 56 National Book Awards, 22 National Book Critics Circle Award and a Nobel Prize, among countless other honors. Such notables include: Philip Roth, Alice Walker, Leonard Bernstein, Sylvia Plath, Mario Puzo and Saul Bellow.
Spencer Trask Today
More than a century later, the ripple effect of Mr. Spencer Trask’s endeavors and belief in entrepreneurs continue to light up the world and touch lives everywhere. His legacy inspires the modern Spencer Trask & Co. to back the Edisons of today — visionaries whose breakthrough innovations represent tomorrow’s breakout investments.
Our edge is our brand. It was built by iconic figures who are instantly recognized and universally respected. This unparalleled brand attracts bright ideas, inspires brilliant founders and entrepreneurs, investors, and corporate partners. Our sustainable advantage ensures that, far into the future, we will continue to be — first to see the light.
