How Did Ben Franklin Make His Money?

How Did Ben Franklin Make His Money? Ben Franklin was an 18th-century American publisher, inventor, writer, and diplomat who had an incredible influence on American culture and government. As a drafter and signer of the Declaration of Independence, he is considered a Founding Father of the United States.

Ben Franklin’s Early Life

Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 17, 1706. His deeply religious parents wanted him to attend school and become a member of the clergy. Free public education wasn’t available at the time, so Franklin only went to school for two years. When his parents could no longer afford tuition, he continued learning by reading voraciously.

At 12, Franklin became an apprentice for his brother, James. This introduced him to the printing and publishing industry. A few years later, James Franklin started one of the country’s first newspapers, The New-England Courant. At 15, he wanted to publish letters in the paper. His brother refused, so Ben started writing under the name Silence Dogood.

At just 17, Franklin moved to Philadelphia and worked for several print shops. Within months of his move, Pennsylvania’s governor convinced him to visit London to purchase the equipment needed to start a new newspaper.

He worked as a typesetter while living in London, but returned to Philadelphia with help from Thomas Denham, who played an important role in the young man’s life.

Franklin worked for Denham’s business until his death in 1727. Ben Franklin returned to the newspaper business and formed The Pennsylvania Gazette. He frequently wrote for the paper, and his ideas elevated him as one of Philadelphia’s intellectual and social elites.

Although Franklin only received a couple years of formal education, several colleges and universities awarded him honorary degrees. Some of those schools include The College of William & Mary, Yale, and Harvard.

Why Is Ben Franklin Famous?

Ben Franklin is famous for many reasons. Practically every student in the United States learns about Franklin’s experiments with electricity, especially the story about him flying a kite during a lightning storm.

Some of his most famous accomplishments include:

Creating one of the first volunteer firefighting companies.
Helping draft the Declaration of Independence.
Contributing to the US Constitution.
Negotiating the Treaty of Paris, which ended a war between Great Britain and France and led to America’s independence from European countries.
Publishing popular books, including Poor Richard’s Almanack.
Serving as the first Postmaster General.
Inventing bifocal eyeglasses.
Contributing to several areas of science, especially the understanding of electricity.

Of course, he’s also famous because his face is printed on the $100 bill.

Franklin’s influence on American society shaped the country’s evolution. During his youth, Franklin was loyal to the British crown. Over time, he changed his mind and wanted the British colonies to unify and separate from the empire. He wrote a proposal for how the colonies could reach these goals. He later expressed these ideas in the Declaration of Independence.

Ben Franklin also became an abolitionist during his life. At one point, he owned a small number of enslaved people. He freed the people under his ownership and eventually became president of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society.

Why Was Ben Franklin So Successful?

Ben Franklin had an inventive mind and worked tirelessly in pursuit of his interests. Franklin was also a skilled networker and negotiator. He earned the trust of powerful people, which made it possible for him to amass greater wealth and influence.

When Franklin was 20, he wrote a list of 13 virtues he believed would contribute to building a good life. Each week, he would choose a different virtue to practice. This exceptional level of discipline likely helped him become so successful.

Franklin’s list of 13 virtues were:

Temperance: one shouldn’t eat or drink in excess.
Silence: one should avoid unimportant conversations and only speak to benefit yourself or others.
Order: one should keep things where they belong and pay them the attention they deserve.
Resolution: resolve to do good things and never fail in meeting the goal as well as possible.
Frugality: don’t waste anything and only use wealth to benefit yourself or others.
Industry: one should avoid unnecessary actions and focus on doing important things.
Sincerity: one should think justly and speak their truth.
Justice: one shouldn’t harm others through direct action or withholding what you owe them.
Moderation: one should avoid all extremes.
Cleanliness: one should keep the body, clothing, and home clean.
Tranquility: one shouldn’t let normal accidents disturb your tranquility.
Chastity: one shouldn’t have excessive sexual relationships.
Humility: one should try to behave like Jesus Christ and Socrates.

Franklin readily admitted that he often fell short of these virtues. Still, he believed that practicing them helped him become a better person over time.

How Did Ben Franklin Make His Money?

Ben Franklin made most of his money in the publishing industry.

At the beginning of his career, Franklin struggled to make financial ends meet by working in various printing houses. Over the next few decades, he accumulated enough money to co-found a newspaper and start investing in land.

He undoubtedly learned a lot about running a successful business while working with Thomas Denham, who owned several successful companies.

Franklin also made the savvy decision to open his own printing house instead of paying another company to print his newspaper. This allowed him to generate two income streams by producing a popular newspaper. Poor Richard’s Almanack‘s popularity added to his wealth.

Franklin also made money through a general store and bookstore he operated with his common-law wife, Deborah Read.

Interestingly, Franklin never patented any of his inventions. He believed that the inventions of other people had contributed to his life and enjoyment. Following that train of thought, he wanted his inventions to benefit people instead of generate money for his personal use.

What Did Ben Franklin Invent?

Ben Franklin was a prodigious inventor who constantly asked questions about how the world works and how he could improve life. Some of the most popular inventions Franklin made include:

The lightning rod
Bifocal eyeglasses
Swim fins
Flexible urinary catheters

During his life, Franklin was famous for inventing the Franklin stove. His design made it much easier to heat homes. The Franklin stove was made of metal and sat a few feet away from the wall. It featured a hole in the rear, which let air pass through the fire and into the room. The design also decreased the amount of smoke stoves created.

Franklin said that his armonica musical instrument gave him more personal satisfaction than any of his other inventions. The armonica has glass bowls that players rub to create sounds. It was very popular for a period but has been nearly forgotten.

Although an interesting instrument that makes a beautiful sound, it’s difficult to transport. Other instruments, therefore, became more popular during the early 19th century.

Franklin also helped found several institutions, including:

The Academy and College of Philadelphia, which later became the University of Pennsylvania.
King’s College, which is now Columbia University.
The American Philosophical Society, which still promotes science and humanities.
The Junto, a social club where members would debate matters such as natural science, governance, politics, and morals.
The Pennsylvania Militia, which is now known as the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.

Who Did Ben Franklin Leave His Money To?

Ben Franklin passed away on April 17, 1790 at the age of 84. About 20,000 people attended his funeral service. As evidence that Franklin influenced cultures outside of the US, the Constitutional Assembly in Revolutionary France took a three-day period for mourning.

Franklin died a wealthy man, and he left specific instructions in his will for how to distribute those assets.

Franklin was interested in the long-term benefits of compound interest. After making some calculations, he decided that he would leave 1,000 British Pounds to Boston and Philadelphia, each. His will stipulated that the cities could not access the cash for 100 years, which would give the trusts time to grow.

According to Franklin’s calculations, each trust should have about 130,000 Pounds in it after 100 years. At that point, the city could withdraw 100,000. He instructed the trusts to maintain the remaining 30,000. The cities could again withdraw money after another century.

The two trusts grew to $7 million over 200 years.

The rest of Benjamin Franklin’s wealth and assets were divided between his son, daughter, sister, and grandchildren.

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