What if I told you there was once an American businessman so powerful that the powers-that-be helped him overthrow a government just to keep him happy? And what if I told you this forgotten titan of industry made his fortune from the same fruit you cut up and drop in your Rice Krispies?
Zemurray isn't a household name like Rockefeller, Ford, Jobs, or Buffet, but I dare say the Banana Man is the most interesting of the lot. A true American original, the Horatio Alger of the Cavendish set. I spoke with the great Rich Cohen, author of "The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King." It's an amazing story that touches on the every aspect of the American century. I guarantee you will never look at the simple banana--technically, a berry, who knew?--in the same way again.
