Henry Ford

Who was Henry Ford?

Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. Ford did not invent the automobile, but he developed and manufactured the first automobile that many middle class Americans could afford to buy. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry. As owner of the Ford Motor Company, he became one of the richest and best-known people in the world. He is credited with "Fordism": mass production of inexpensive goods coupled with high wages for workers. Ford had a global vision, with consumerism as the key to peace. His intense commitment to systematically lowering costs resulted in many technical and business innovations, including a franchise system that put dealerships throughout most of North America and in major cities on six continents. Ford left most of his vast wealth to the Ford Foundation and arranged for his family to control the company permanently.

Ford was also widely known for his pacifism during the first years of World War I, and also for being the publisher of antisemitic texts such as the book The International Jew.

Famous Quotes:

• You don't build a reputation on what you're going to do.
• There are two fools in this world. One is the millionaire who thinks that by hoarding money he can somehow accumulate real power, and the other is the penniless reformer who thinks that if only he can take the money from one class and give it to another, all the world's ills will be cured.
• Money is like an arm or leg -- use it or lose it.
• Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.
• The highest use of capital is not to make more money, but to make money do to more for the betterment of life.
• Competition is the keen cutting edge of business, always shaving away at costs.
• There is no man living who isn't capable of doing more than he thinks he can do.
• There is no such thing as no chance.
• An idealist is a person who helps other people to be prosperous.
• Chop your own wood, and it will warm you twice.