Charles Crocker and Family

Charles Crocker was one of the Big Four of California. He was the build it boss, standing 6'6". He was instrumental in pushing for the use of the Shanghai slave trade to fill their quota of workers during the construction of the Central Pacific.

He was known as the Prince of bankers and the banker of Princes. The name came partially due to his relationship with Prince Poniatowski, who married into his family.

He backed out of the operations of the Central and Southern Pacific to concentrate, real estate and banking and other companies. Of the big four, he had the biggest family that has gone on to expand his empire, now primarily in land.

One of the larger entities (Parkside Reality) held most of the land in San Francisco west of Twin Peaks or what is now known as the Sunset District of the city. He was also owner of substantial portions of land south of the city. As late as the 1980's his ownership of San Bruno Mountain, south of San Francisco, was fighting to develop the mountain. It failed, due to major opposition and endangered Mission Blue Butterfly. It sold its rights to another real estate front that continues to chip away at the Mt.

His family was also a major player in the creation of PG&E, having merged his ownership of electric companies in the South Bay into California Gas & Electric, the entity that then agressively took on the independent SF Gas & Electric company.

The 1980's sale of the bank to Midlands is of especial interest. Midlands was the new name for what had been the Far East Trading Company of the British Empire. Midlands only held Crocker for a short time, selling the bank to Wells Fargo. The old SP stage coach company that went on to be the banking arm of the railroad empire. Midland's itself was purchased a few laters and became part of one of the largest banks in the world now named the Hongkong Shanghai Bank Company. HSBC has created a partnership with Wells Fargo Bank to do international investments and has its former Chairman of WFC on its board of directors.

In the 1937 TNEC, his family was listed as the owners of both PG&E an SoCal Edison.

He had early ties to August Belmont, the Rothschild front man in the U.S.

Walker's manual of California securities and Directory of Directors