Part 4/13:
A figure reminiscent of Elon Musk, John Rascó was an innovator in the auto industry, expanding credit to General Motors and transforming American consumer habits. He fostered the culture of debt to fund growth—on a scale that blurred the lines between business expansion and speculative excess. Rascó also invested in politics, backing candidates like Al Smith, and was instrumental in large infrastructure projects such as the Empire State Building. His philosophy that everyone should be "rich" encapsulated the 1920s obsession with rapid wealth accumulation, often fueled by speculative credit.