Oliver Warbucks (born in 1894) was an English-American bussinessman, the richest man in the world during the Great Depression and the stepfather of Annie Bennett Warbucks.
Biography[]
Warbucks was born about 1894 in Liverpool, England. His father, a section boss on the railway, was killed when he was a month old. His mother was left with only "gumption" and a house in which she was able to keep boarders. His early youth in Supine involved cornering all the marbles in town at age nine, serving as a messenger for the telegraph company, having a girlfriend named Millie, fishing, swimming, and raiding melon patches with Spike Spangle and beating up the son of the banker who planned to foreclose on his mother's house. Then, on June 7, 1905, when he was 11, his mother died at age 30 of typhoid. He was put on the outbound Limited on the night of the funeral. Presumably, he later spent some time in the city, for he and Paddy Cairns were companions in the old 8th Ward.
For a few semesters he attended college, studying engineering, but found no time for football or girls because he had to work seven nights a week in the local steel mill to pay a debt. His family background and lack of prep school education kept him from entering a fraternity in his youth. But as an adult, Warbucks joined the Freemasons and went on to serve as Worshipful Master of a lodge.
He eventually became a foreman in the rolling mill, married Mrs. Warbucks, and worked and planned for a family and house of their own. When "Daddy" began to make big money during World War I, the marital happiness was lost, but he retained his identity with the common people.
After the war, Warbucks continued as an industrialist but became a philanthropist as well—his fortune had built to "ten billion dollars". His wife instigated the taking in (no adoption ever took place) of Annie while Warbucks was away on a business trip. On his return, he was smitten with Annie and, as her father figure, offered the girl support as needed. He often intervened in Annie's life during crisis, always returning in time to save the day.
During World War II, Warbucks and his bodyguards Punjab and The Asp joined Allied forces. Warbucks became a three-star general.
He was knighted by the Queen of the United Kingdom later in life.