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Floyd OdlumAmerican industrialist and lawyer
Date of Birth: 30.03.1892
Country:  USA |
Content:
Biography of Floyd Bostwick Odlum
Floyd Bostwick Odlum was an American industrialist and lawyer who was often referred to as 'perhaps the only man in the United States who made a fortune during the Great Depression'. After working as a corporate lawyer in Salt Lake City, Odlum received a lucrative offer from a law firm in New York. By 1921, he had become the vice president of one of the firm's main clients, the Electric Bond and Share Company.
In 1923, Odlum, along with his friend and their wives, pooled their resources to create the United States Company, which primarily dealt with municipal stocks and securities. Within two years, the company's value had increased to $700,000, more than 17 times its initial worth. In 1928, Odlum founded the Atlas Utilities Company, through which he gained control of all the common stocks of his first venture.
In the summer of 1929, only a few industrialists foresaw the impending crash of Wall Street. Odlum took advantage of the booming market and sold half of the assets of Atlas Utilities Company, issuing approximately 9 million new securities to various investors. At the time of the market crash, Odlum possessed $14 million in cash and short-term notes. Over the next few years, he gradually acquired less successful investment groups at reduced prices due to the Depression.
When Franklin Delano Roosevelt became President of the United States, Odlum changed his business strategy, selling off the stocks of municipal enterprises and focusing on large-scale financing. By 1933, Odlum was one of the ten wealthiest individuals in America. In addition to his work with Atlas, Odlum held significant stakes in RKO Studios, Convair, Northeast Airlines, and Bonwit Teller. He collaborated with George Newell Armsby on various aviation projects, which eventually led to the establishment of Transcontinental Air Transport, Inc. Odlum later sold RKO Studios to Howard Hughes.
In 1954, Odlum invested in the Broadway show "The Pajama Game," persuading Goldman Sachs' head, Sidney Weinberg, to do the same. Notably, the production led to the discovery of actress Shirley MacLaine by Paramount Pictures producer Hal Wallis.
Odlum's first wife was Hortense McQuarrie, the first woman to head a chain of stores, whom he married in 1915. His second wife was aviator Jackie Cochran. Odlum and Cochran were acquainted with the famous American aviator Amelia Earhart, and together with George P. Putnam, they financially supported many of Earhart's flights. Odlum is also remembered for his joint project with L. Boyd Hatch in purchasing and developing Hatch's Camp, a mountain resort near Logan Canyon, Utah, now known as Pine Glenn Cove, which was listed as a National Historic Place in 2006.
