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Jesse Holman Jones (April 5, 1874 – June 1, 1956) was an American Democratic politician and entrepreneur from Houston, Texas. Jones managed a Tennessee tobacco factory at age fourteen, and at nineteen, he was put in charge of his uncle's lumberyards. Five years later, after his uncle, M. T. Jones, died, Jones moved to Houston to manage his ...
With only an eighth grade education and natural business acumen, Jesse Holman Jones set off for Houston, Texas in 1894 on a journey that would take him to the heights of wealth and power.
May 28, 2024 · Jesse H. Jones (born April 5, 1874, Robertson County, Tenn., U.S.—died June 1, 1956, Houston, Texas) was a U.S. banker, businessman, and public official, chairman of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) from 1933 to 1939.
This exhibit explores the impact of Jesse H. Jones on the city of Houston and the United States as a whole through Jones's lifelong work as an entrepreneur, politician, and philanthropist.
During his lifetime, Jesse H. Jones was widely known as one of the most powerful leaders in the nation. To learn more check out the features below.
Jesse Jones: Helping America Heal. In the 1920's, prior to the Great Depression, Jesse Jones embarked on the most ambitious phase of his building career.
He became chairman of the executive committee of the Export-Import Bank of Washington in 1936 and was named administrator of the Federal Loan Agency in 1939. Jones then became a part of Roosevelt's cabinet, serving as secretary of commerce from 1940 to 1945.
It not only provided loans to established banks, but also encouraged new ventures and sought to enlarge bank capital by buying bank-preferred stock, creating a base for credit expansion. As head of RFC and its empire of numerous subsidiaries, Jones became one of the most powerful figures in America.
Today scholars give Jesse Jones a tremendous amount of credit for the role he played in saving capitalism during the Great Depression and mobilizing industry in time to fight and win World War II.
Jesse H. Jones of Houston, Texas, was a man who supplied such leadership. Within a few years, many observers were calling Jones the second-most-powerful man in the nation after the President....
