![]() ![]() It feels like an “only in America” story and was a fun read. Eventually, he owns banana farms in Guetamala and effectively operates a navy as well. ![]() He buys "ripes” - bananas too close to being ripe to sell - on the cheap from the banana companies and hustles to sell them before they go bad. The book tells the story of Sam Zemurray, a Jewish Russian immigrant who takes over the whole industry and becomes a millionaire. Selling bananas was a race against time - as soon as you plucked them, they’d start to ripen (and eventually go bad) Running a banana company well required vertical integration - growing the bananas in central America, owning the ships that brought them to the US, and marketing / selling them to consumers. This is because the companies that controlled the banana industry - “Big Banana” if you will - needed friendly governments to run profitably (e.g., get various tax breaks) All the bananas you eat are clones of the same original banana (called a “Cavendish”)īananas led to multiple governments being overthrown. ![]()
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