Let’s start with the big one: John Jacob Astor IV. This dude was the richest man on the Titanic, worth about a billion dollars in today’s money. He was basically the Elon Musk of his time, inventing stuff like a bicycle brake and a weird pneumatic engine.
He survived the collision, but made a fatal mistake. He asked his wife, who was pregnant, to get into a lifeboat while he stayed behind, chivalrously smoking a cigarette with his friend. He just couldn’t imagine the ship would actually sink. Talk about a bad gut feeling.
A Fashion Icon and a Ghost Ship
Then there’s Benjamin Guggenheim, the mining magnate. When he realized the ship was doomed, he didn’t panic. Instead, he and his valet changed into their finest evening wear. Seriously. He reportedly said, “We are dressed in our best and are prepared to go down like gentlemen.”
That’s a level of chill that’s almost unbelievable. He basically decided, “If I’m going out, I’m going out looking sharp.” It’s like he treated the sinking as a dramatic, final red-carpet event.
