Vanderbilt, however, won respect for more than simply being smart. Americans, and Democrats in particular, distinguished between “stockjobbing” speculators, whom they saw as little more than gamblers or tricksters, and “enterprising” men, who built businesses and created wealth. In 1842, editor Moses Beach added Vanderbilt to his annual list of “the Wealthy Citizens of New York City” alongside Philip Hone, Oroondates Mauran, Daniel Drew, and John Jacob Astor.
