William Randolph Hearst's Family Tree Explained

The archetype of the self-made millionaire is central to the American identity. Ask many for an example of this phenomenon in American history, and they just might mention William Randolph Hearst. According to Legends of America, though, Hearst's father, George Hearst, gave his son a head start, both in the newspaper business and in his bank ledger. Born in 1820, George Hearst was entrepreneurial from a very young age, improving the bottom line of the family farm following the death of his father, launching and running a successful store, and dabbling in the lead mining industry, a major employer in Hearst's home state of Missouri.

It's within that mining industry that the roots of the Hearst fortune truly lie. By the 1850s, George Hearst, already successful in lead mining, moved his family to California to try his hand at gold mining (in mines similar to what's pictured). Out West, he had mixed results, but still managed to realize enormous profits. William Randolph Hearst was born in 1863, per Britannica. By the 1880s, his father, George, was in the San Francisco newspaper business, owning and operating the San Francisco Examiner.

By 1887, George Hearst handed the newspaper over to his son who, through a mix of gossipy and sensationalist "yellow journalism" and real human interest stories, made the paper wildly profitable. Much of that success can be attributed to the younger Hearst, but for a leg-up in any industry, having a business given to you by your father is not a bad place to start.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunCDkHJncGpfrLatuMiapGaqkaOxsLjPoWShnZGnwLW%2FjJ%2BYpqGcrnq1vsSeZJ6woKGuqrrEnWY%3D