Henry Clay Frick

Who was Henry Clay Frick?

Henry Clay Frick was an American industrialist, financier, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company coke manufacturing company, was chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company, and played a major role in the formation of the giant U.S. Steel steel manufacturing concern. He also financed the construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Reading Company, and owned extensive real estate holdings in Pittsburgh and throughout the state of Pennsylvania. He later built the historic neoclassical Frick Mansion and at his death donated his extensive collection of old master paintings and fine furniture to create the celebrated Frick Collection and art museum. Once known by his critics as "the most hated man in America", Portfolio.com named Frick one of the "Worst American CEOs of All Time".