Henry J. Kaiser (1932)

Henry J. Kaiser (1932)

Kaiser’s presidency may have come as a result of Starrett’s untimely death, but the then-AGC vice president had quite the impressive CV himself. As the son of German immigrants – his father was a shoemaker – Kaiser, born in upstate New York, founded his first construction company in Washington State in 1906 and from there steadily rose to prominence, becoming known as the father of modern American shipbuilding and the man behind the Kaiser Shipyards, Kaiser Aluminum, Kaiser Steel and eventually Kaiser-Frazer and Kaiser Motors – noted for the safety of their automobiles. His legacy includes incredible non-partisan charity (the Kaiser Family Foundation) and as the employer of hundreds of thousands, he was a pioneer in offering health insurance to his workers.