Quick, name some of the fabulously rich men of the 19th century. John D. Rockefeller? Check. Andrew Carnegie? Check. John W. Mackay? Uh, who?
Not a household name in our time, but John Mackay got rich in the Comstock Lode of silver and gold in Nevada, and went toe-to-toe in competition with some of the richest men of his time.
Gregory Crouch profiles Mackay (pronounced "Mackie") in the book The Bonanza King: John Mackay and the Battle Over the Greatest Riches in the American West. The author gives us a glimpse of the life and times of Mackay.