Prominent Dutch American Entrepreneurs

The book presents the stories of the more successful Dutch American entrepreneurs, active in theUnited States, with some going back as far as 400 years. The majority of the entrepreneurs
covered in the book were active during the past 150 years. Each of the individuals covered
represent an enterprise that was well known during its respective era. In some of the cases the
individuals were better known than the enterprises they represented, and some became historic
figures.
Some of the more famous Dutch American entrepreneurs are Cornelius Vanderbilt, and his son
William Vanderbilt, transportation entrepreneurs in the nineteenth century. Also famous during
the early nineteenth century was DeWitt Clinton, the driving force behind the building of the Erie
Canal. During the twentieth century, there were such famous Dutch American entrepreneurs as Cecil B. DeMille, Darryl Zanuck, and
others in the entertainment industry. The most successful entrepreneurs, still alive today, are the billionaire businessmen, the Koch
brothers, who own the multibillion dollar Koch Industries, an oil and chemical industry firm.
The book's audience consists of academics, the public, and specifically the Dutch American public, numbering from 6 to 10 million
people. The book is also an important source book and reader for college courses in Entrepreneurship, American History, Culture,
Society and Economy.