Henry Ford Is Taken In

Henry Ford Sr. the car magnate, having already become massively wealthy, had decided to visit Cork, Ireland, the hometown from which his father had emigrated to the states. Upon arrival, he was warmly welcomed by prominent local citizens, including a committee raising funds for a new hospital. Moved by their cause, Ford immediately wrote a check for $5,000 and handed it to the committee. It was a surprisingly large amount, even for Ford, for that sum would have been worth about a half a million dollars today when accounting for inflation.

The next day, newspapers praised Ford’s…