Friday 6th July 1906

John S. Gray (64), one of the original investors of the Ford Motor Company, died unexpectedly of heart trouble. Gray’s position as Ford president was taken over by Henry Ford himself soon afterward. Gray’s estate, however, retained control of his shares in the company, until Henry Ford bought them in 1919. For the 16 years that Gray and his heirs owned their stake in the company, they received total dividends of $10,355,075. When the estate finally sold his shares to Henry Ford, the price was $26,250,000, making a total return of $36,605,075 on Gray’s $10,500 initial investment.