He was responsible for several of the engineering marvels of the late nineteenth century, including Blackwall Tunnel under the River Thames; the four tunnels under the East River in New York, built for the Pennsylvania Railroad; and Dover Harbor. Eventually, the empire he established would include everything from the Financial Times, the Economist, and Penguin Books to the investment bank of Lazard’s in London, as well as an oil-service company. But Mexico would provide the basis for the greater part of his fortune.
