Haym Salomon  (1740–1785)

Haym Salomon was a prime financier of the American side during the American Revolutionary War against Great Britain. A Jew, he was born in Leszno (Lissa), Poland, the son of a rabbi. Salomon came to New York from Poland in 1772 and joined the Sons of Liberty. In 1776 he was captured by the British, but he used his knowledge of German to convince his Hessian jailer to let him out. It was during this period of incarceration that he contracted tuberculosis. After this he left New York and joined up with the American forces who were evacuating New York at the time. He traveled south with Washington's Army and eventually settled in Philadelphia. While in Philadelphia he married Rachael Franks, the daughter of loyalist merchant and slave trader David Franks, of Philadelphia. They kept one slave, a young woman who helped Mrs. Salomon in their home.
Salomon was an astute merchant and auctioneer who succeeded in accumulating a fortune, which he subsequently devoted to the use of the American government during the American Revolution. For example, he personally supported various members of the Continental Congress during their stay in Philadelphia, including James Madison. Acting as the patriot he was, he never asked for repayment. Solomon also negotiated the sale of a majority of the war aid from France and Holland, selling bills of exchange to American merchants.
He sold bills of exchange for the French, and those funds went to pay the French military during their stay in Philadelphia. Often working out of the "London Coffee House" in Philadelphia, he acted as a broker for the Office of Finance. Solomon sold about $600,000 in Bills of Exchange to his clients, netting about 2.5% per sale.
When Solomon died, it was discovered he had been speculating in various currencies and debt instruments. His family sold them at market rates, which had greatly depreciated because of the weakened state of the American economy in the 1780s. Subsequent generations misunderstood his truly patriotic actions and appealed to Congress for more money, but were turned down twice. A myth grew up that he had lent the young United States government about $600,000, and at his death about $400,000 of this amount had not been repaid. This sum was added to what he really had lent to statesmen and others while performing public duties and trusts. Jacob Bader Marcus wrote in Early American Jewry that the sum owed to Solomon was $800,000. That amount in 1785 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $39,264,947,368.42 (using relative share of GDP which indicates purchasing power) in 2005 US dollars.