Micronesia: Island Millionaire

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In 1944, soon after the fighting died down, Jones was not thinking about going back to the farm. "I realized that this place was kind of a hub in the Pacific. I thought it would be fun to come in and start with nothing and pioneer this thing." He saved up $3,000 for a start, but lost almost half of it in a poker game on the way back to the U.S. With his remaining funds, he bought cheap watches, jewelry and trinkets, and sent them to a Guamanian friend to sell. To get back to Guam as a civilian, he had to sign up for a year as a U.S. civil service employee.

When the year was over, Jones went into business. After a profitable deal with 140 war-surplus Jeeps, he expanded swiftly into supermarkets, shipping, housing—and he has no intention of stopping. One of his latest projects involves ten race horses imported from Australia. Sooner or later, there will be a track in the islands, he explains, and "when that day comes, we'll want to win the race."