Who Started Wells Fargo?

The individuals who started Wells Fargo were men who were very aware of financial strategies to increase wealth in many different ways. The company Wells Fargo was created during the time of the California gold rush, and its creation was directly linked to providing existing services in a location that was a prime spot for future growth. The company would become one of the leading providers of both mail services and financing products.

The two gentlemen who started Wells Fargo were very successful individuals who already knew a thing or two about running a prosperous business. Both Henry Wells and William Fargo each owned their own companies, which were based around the express industry. An additional individual John Butterfield also created his own express company.

Essentially Wells, Fargo and Butterfield competed for business until they decided to merge, creating the very well known company American Express in New York. Noticing the expansion in the west, Wells and Fargo suggested expanding American Express to California in an effort to beat competition. However, the directors at American Express were opposed to the idea of expanding the company westward.

So while maintaining their professional obligations to American Express, Wells and Fargo formed their own separate business Wells, Fargo and Company on March 18, 1852. The new company was set up to offer banking and express services throughout California.

Because Wells Fargo was established in California much later than other financial companies, they were at an obvious disadvantage in marketing their services against established competition. However, Wells Fargo was able to carve itself into a niche in an already established banking environment in California by offering a variety of services such as buying and selling gold and coins, freight services and the placement of its services in locations that were frequented often, such as near gold fields.

Wells Fargo Mail

Although there are many who consider Wells Fargo to be an influential financial entity, the company was also very well involved in the mail services business. From its inception, Wells Fargo had acquired a reputation of having top of the line communication and transportation services.

Wells Fargo would go on to operate a stagecoach business which would then lead to the formation of the Overland Mail Company, which Wells Fargo would later take over completely under its own name. Overland Mail was awarded a U.S. government contract to carry mail from the city of St. Louis to California.

Later Wells Fargo would participate in the Pony Express mail service when it was offered another government contract to run mail from Salt Lake City to San Francisco. Although the introduction of telegraph lines would decrease the need of this service, it should be noted that Wells Fargo played a significant role in the early distribution of mail throughout the United States.

Success of Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo continued to grow into a very successful company that provides a range of financial services to its customers. This company later helped create the very popular MasterCard with three other California banks in order to be competitive with Bank of America in the credit business. Wells Fargo also became very dedicated to building its presence through the acquisition of different banks.

Overall, the company has gone through a significant period of growth, and it also experienced a bout of loss in the 1990s as a result of a merger with First Interstate Bancorp which went horribly wrong. Wells Fargo later merged with Norwest after suffering setbacks with the First Interstate Bancorp. Wells Fargo merged into Norwest, but Norwest agreed to change its name to Wells Fargo because of the status of the Wells Fargo name.

In early 2009, Wells Fargo expanded again when they officially acquired the troubled bank, Wachovia. During the financial downturn of 2008, Wells Fargo purchased Wachovia for 15.1 billion dollars. This acquisition helped to expand Wells Fargo’s presence into the southern and eastern states.

When one thinks about who started Wells Fargo, there is a rich history of a company that has managed to have a deep impact on the financial services sector.