This fascinating biography recounts the life and legacy of a titan of American banking, Louis Graveraet Kaufman (1870–1942). Also known as LG, he was a Gatsbyesque figure born in Michigan's Upper Peninsula who married into great wealth and then amassed far more of his own. Under LG, New York's Chatham Phenix National Bank and Trust Company became one of the nation's largest banks and the first in New York to boast a network of branches. When he was denied entry into the exclusive, Protestant, old-money Huron Mountain Club, LG responded by building his own retreat: the world's largest log lodge, a 26,000-square-foot behemoth near Marquette, Michigan. Christened Granot Loma, it became the site of lavish Prohibition-era parties, attracting many celebrities who came in private rail cars to enjoy jazz and liquor chez Kaufman. A darling of the press, LG became a household name, making news by coordinating the famous takeover of General Motors in 1916, narrowly escaping death in the Wall Street Bombing of 1920, and financing the Empire State Building during the Great Depression. Author Ann Berman highlights Kaufman's remarkable journey from "barefoot boy" to trailblazing branch banking giant, proving LG was not just a man of his time but one worth reading about over a century later. "Lurking behind the creation of the Empire State Building and General Motors was an acute and fabulously successful banker from the woods of Michigan. Louis Graveraet Kaufman's wealth also paid for a top-drawer life of glamorous parties, triplex apartments, private railcars, and America's largest log home. Ann Berman unearthed this forgotten titan's story through years of old-fashioned digging and turned the surprising facts into a wonderful book that crystallizes the doomed prosperity of the pre-Crash years into a great American saga."―Raymond Sokolov "With vivacious prose, Ann Berman brings to life Louis G. Kaufman, banker, financier, and visionary. From his magnificent lodge on Lake Superior to the Court of St. James, this sweeping story is pivotal to the history of banking, the automobile industry, Upper Michigan, and the New York skyline."―Tyler R. Tichelaar, award-winning author of The Mysteries of Marquette "Michigan's Upper Peninsula is known for waterfalls, rock formations, and the Mackinac Bridge. But as Ann Berman's marvelous biography Louis Graveraet Kaufman makes clear, the Upper Peninsula should also be famous as the birthplace and longtime home of the Zelig-like Jazz Age figure who conquered Wall Street and built the Empire State Building. It's a fascinating business history but also a richly detailed social history of private train cars, debutante balls, and George Gershwin's piano. Who could ask for anything more? "―Joanne Kaufman, writer "Ann Berman's biography of Louis Graveraet Kaufman is an engaging read. Berman deftly brings to life the story of an influential financier who has largely been forgotten by history. Born to a Jewish peddler in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Kaufman made his fortune on Wall Street during the Roaring Twenties and, along the way, bankrolled the Empire State Building. Berman weaves a fascinating rags-to-riches story."―Jason M. Barr, author of Cities in the Sky: The Quest to Build the World's Tallest Skyscrapers "Once one of the most innovative and influential financiers in the country, Louis Graveraet Kaufman has been almost entirely forgotten―until now. Ann Berman's extraordinary research and narrative skills bring long-deserved recognition to this unlikely figure's remarkable life."―Daniel Okrent, author of The Guarded Gate and Last Call "Combining dogged archival sleuthing with vibrant storytelling, this makes for a unique and riveting American saga."― Publishers Weekly Discover the extraordinary rise of the glamorous, competitive, and clever American banking titan. This fascinating biography recounts the life and legacy of a titan of American banking, Louis Graveraet Kaufman (1870-1942). Also known as LG, he was a Gatsbyesque figure who built New York's Chatham Phenix National Bank into one of the largest in the country. Kaufman retained his Michigan roots, building the world's largest log structure, a 26,000-square-foot Adirondack-style lodge near Marquette where he hosted lavish, boozy Prohibition-era parties frequented by George Gershwin, Ethel Barrymore, and Joseph Kennedy. While LG's ethnicity and Jewish surname led to many obstacles, he maneuvered around them to live a life of social and financial triumph. Once a household name chronicled daily in the press, LG coordinated the takeover of General Motors in 1916 and financed the Empire State Building during the Great Depression, yet he has been overlooked by modern historians. Ann Berman chronicles his remarkable journey from "barefoot boy" in Michigan's Upper Peninsula to trailblazing banking giant, proving Kaufman was not only a man of his time but one worth reading about a century later. Ann Berman is a writer and