Ulysses S. Grant holds some opposing distinctions. He was the savior of the US Union, but a mediocre President. His time in office carried so much less distinction than his time in uniform that, post-Presidency, many referred to him as General Grant, not President Grant. This can be found in the Autobiography of Mark Twain where the author discusses his business arrangements with the President, briefly explaining part of Grant’s financial predicament.

This article will discuss:

  1. The business Grant appeared to partner in after he left office
  2. His son’s scheming partner, Ferdinand Ward
  3. How Ward stole everyone’s money

Grant & Ward: Come Invest with Us!

The President’s son, U.S. Grant, Jr., was acquainted with financier Ferdinand Ward through his college roommate at Colombia. Ward had a financial operation where he served as both bank and investment advisor. His firm was a mighty fine one, paying 2% per month! Today we know this to be a clear sign of a Ponzi scheme, but that name would not even be known back in 1880, given that Charles Ponzi was not yet born until this scam was about halfway through.

Regarding the younger Grant, some may wonder what his background was that he’d get such an opportunity to be a partner in high finance at just 28. He was a law school graduate, briefly served as his father’s personal secretary in the White House, then as a federal prosecutor, and succeeded in private practice to the point that when he partnered with Ward, he bought in with $100,000 of his own money. Would someone without the Grant name be as likely to have held those positions? Certainly not, but he was not without life and professional experience.

Both father and son invested $100,000, and others in the Grant family did, as well. As for the President, a good sum of this money was from borrowing on, or selling off, his assets. From 1880-1884, Grant & Ward were paying a nice income to the former President. As they did so, Ferdinand Ward wasn’t doing so badly himself.

Ferdinand Ward: Robbing Peter and Paul to Pay Everyone Else

Ferdinand Ward was born in upstate New York to missionary parents serving communities in a religious function.

In his early 20s he began working as a commodities exchange clerk, and then tapped into two tried-and-true methods of enhancing his station. He (1) stole money from a church, then (2) married into a wealthy family. The former helped with the latter, and for more information on that, please read A Disposition to Be Rich, by Geoffrey Ward.

Having established himself as a successful man with a background in finance, he made inroads to the Grant family and other successful people from a variety of backgrounds, such as the arts, railroads, banking, and more.

How Ward Stole Everyone’s Money

Ward’s claim of how he beat out the competition was with inside information about the government. If someone challenged him on this he did what many who came after him still do: Hide behind the need for secrecy by claiming he has a proprietary method. This was part of how the fake collection of Thomas Jefferson’s wine lasted so long, and how Bernie Madoff’s scam kept going. The other part is that those getting paid (or those who overpaid) don’t want the music to stop only for them to find there not only isn’t a chair, but that they gave it away all that time ago.

It’s a two-fold process of people not wanting to appear the fool, and of them wanting it all to be real.

Adding the Grant name to his marquis made the claim of inside information all the more believable, but what really spoke to people were the gains. In one instance, a gentleman gave him a healthy amount to invest. Not long after, Ward drafted a much larger check for him to take back. Seeing the success, he let Ward keep the money to further invest.

Unfortunately, the only things Ward was buying were time to keep the scam going and fancy things for himself. He had a brownstone in New York City and a 25-acre estate in Connecticut. These should have been the biggest red flags because Ward was in his early 30s, and those in banking typically don’t make that kind of money. But he could hide behind his wife’s family’s wealth while also claiming to invest his own funds.

Enjoying this article? Check out Imposter Scams in the 19th, 20th and 21st Centuries

How It All Ended

Near death and destitute, President Grant writes his memoirs with the assistance and support of Mark Twain

This Ponzi scheme ended how they all do. Eventually, there just weren’t enough new investors to cover the payments to the old ones, especially with all the expenses of running a business and multiple residences.

The case went before the New York Supreme Court where Mr. Ward not only showed no remorse, but claimed a need for leniency. After all, he claimed that he was in a predicament where he “had to rob Peter to pay Paul,” which was an understatement given that he seemed to have all the apostles involved by that point.

As for the Grant family, they were much worse off. The President began writing magazine articles for a low price just to pay basic household expenses, and then finally agreed to write his life story. For this, Mark Twain was the publisher.