GSEs are privately owned companies chartered by the federal government to serve public purposes in the financial markets.

Born in Delaware County, New York, Gould had a tumultuous childhood but showed promise in school.

Goodrich was born in Ripley, New York, the son of farmers. Orphaned at an early age, he was brought up by his mother’s brother.

Gompers was born in London and moved to the United States with his family when he was 13.

The term used to describe a national currency that is backed by gold. There are two types of gold standard: the gold bullion standard and the gold exchange standard.

An INVESTMENT BANKING company founded by Marcus Goldman immediately after the Civil War. Goldman arrived in the United States from Bavaria in 1848 and became an itinerant merchant.

Born in Bordeaux, France, Girard came to America in 1776. Leaving school at an early age, he became a cabin boy on a ship when he was 14.

Jean Paul Getty was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on December 15, 1892, the son of an insurance lawyer.

Founded in 1908 by William Crapo DURANT, General Motors became the world’s largest car maker and largest corporation after World War II.

A body of accounting rules that consists of agreed-upon standards, conventions, and procedures that define financial accounting and reporting in a society.

Founded as the Edison Electric Co. by Thomas EDISON in 1878, the company is one of the few American companies to retain its original corporate name, later adopted in 1892.

Born in Bournemouth, England, Geneen immigrated to the United States with his parents in his infancy. He studied accounting at New York University and, to help pay his expenses, worked as a runner on the NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE.

Gates was a cofounder of the Microsoft Corporation. Born in Seattle, Gates began programming while in his teens.

Born in Illinois, Gary worked on his father’s farm and served in the Union Army during the Civil War. He then worked briefly as a teacher before deciding to study law.

Born into a prominent Swiss family in Geneva in 1761, Gallatin attended the prestigious Academy of Geneva, where he displayed considerable academic promise.

Or commodity futures markets—the term given to financial markets in which contracts for future delivery are traded rather than the actual commodities or financial instruments that they represent.

Born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to Irish immigrant parents, Fulton spent his early years designing little paddleboats and sketching.

Frick was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and worked on his father’s farm as a boy, receiving only sporadic education.

A labor concept that allows a member of a professional sports team to sign with a team of his or her choice rather than be tied to a specific team under contract terms that do not allow freedom to move.

Investments made in a country by a foreign investor, usually a corporation.

The market for currencies, conducted mainly through bank dealers around the world.

Passed by Congress in 1977, the FCPA makes it illegal for Americans to bribe foreign business contacts in order to do business with them.

An automobile manufacturer founded by Henry FORD and incorporated in 1903. The company originally began as the Detroit Automobile Company in 1899.

Born near Dearborn, Michigan, Ford attended school for eight years before becoming an apprentice in a Detroit machine shop at age 16.