Diamond Jim Brady: American Philanthropist

Diamond Jim Brady
James Buchanan Brady or as he is most known as, Diamond Jim was an American Philanthropist who was larger than life. Diamond Jim was born on August 12th, 1856 to his parents John and Mary in New York City.He was the only child of John and Mary. He grew up in the working class part of New York City and began working at a very young in his father's saloon to help support the family.
When he was 15 he got a job as a bellhop and also as a courier. Eventually, he got a better job working in the New York Central Railroad System. While working for the railroad system he eventually earned a promotion to a chief assistant. By 23 he became a successful salesmen for a different company called Manning, Maxwell, and Moore. He would work

that same job for the next 20 years until he yet again got a better job working with the railroads as a sales agent for the Pressed Steel Car Company. During those years he developed the affinity for precious jewels and stones, specifically diamonds.
He became very famous not just for having the diamonds, but also flaunting them. He owned around $56,888,000 of diamonds. He owned diamond covered watches, his cane was covered in diamonds, and even had a bicycle covered in diamonds made for his significant other Lillian Russell. He carried so many diamonds at once he would carry loose diamonds in his pockets to tip people in diamonds for good deeds or services. Not to mention his total wealth was upward of $220,000,000.
Diamond Jim Brady lived an extremely lavish life.

His opinion on spending money was epitomized in This Fabulous Century when he said ‘Hell, i'm rich. It’s time I had some fun (180-181). Everyone around him also joined him in his lavish life, including his longtime partner Lillian Russell. He spoiled her with whatever she wanted including a bicycle covered in diamonds and of course, lots of diamonds. But probably the biggest thing he indulged in was food. The list of food he ate in one day could take up a paragraph in itself but for just breakfast he would indulge in eggs, muffins, cornbread, pork chops, flapjacks, beefsteak, fried potatoes, and a gallon of fresh orange juice. He ate that amount for every meal throughout the day, and it’s also worth mentioning he ate 6 meals a day as well. No wonder that when he died of a heart attack on April 13, 1917 in a hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey his autopsy revealed that his stomach was 6 times larger than normal. After he passed away most of his wealth went to Lillian and $40,000 of it went into founding the James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute at the John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Although he and Lillian never married or had any children Diamond Jim’s legendary apatite and affinity for diamonds lives on to this

day.