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...Selling picks and shovels in a gold rush made Samuel Brannan California’s first millionaire in 1849. Brannan wasted his fortune and died in poverty....
...During the Californian gold rush, businessman Samuel Brannan famously made his fortune by cornering the market in shovels sold to hopeful miners, rather than digging for the precious metal himself....
...Samuel Brannan became the richest man in California during the state’s Gold Rush of 1849; although he never found a lump of bullion. He made his fortune selling shovels and picks to the gold-seekers....
...Even by the usual standards for this sector, Mr Brannan is young to have started his tech business....
...Sam Brannan, a local merchant, became one of the richest men in California during the Gold Rush – not by mining, but by selling shovels....
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