NDR - Pioneers Turned Millionaires (2010) Part 4 Levi Strauss Blue Jeans Billionaire

The legendary Levi's jeans, Heinz Tomato Ketchup, Boeing planes, precious Steinway pianos and the legendary Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York - they are all achievements from the land of opportunity. But they have another thing in common their creators emigrated from Germany to the New World. What do jeans, ketchup, planes, pianos, and furs have in common? Each is the product of an American dream come true. “Pioneers Turned Millionaires” is a five-part series that delves deep into the stories of five German entrepreneurs who redefined American economy and left a major imprint on American culture. Five visionary entrepreneurs from the old world redefined the economy of the new world and left a major imprint on American culture. Levi Strauss, Henry E. Steinway, William E. Boeing, John Jacob Astor and Henry J. Heinz changed the way the world eats, dresses, plays and travels - one can hardly ignore their names or products anywhere in the world today. Innovation, courage, persistency and hard work were the attributes that made them succeed in a strange new country. We visit the companies of Levi Strauss & Co., Steinway & Sons, Heinz and Boeing. We see how each of their founders had a novel and brilliant idea, used it to established a company and gained fame, honour and wealth. With the help of high-end reconstructions and exquisite archive material, this series presents one of the most fascinating and exciting eras of American economic history. How did these five men, who all started out as immigrants, become archetypical self-made millionaires that even now epitomize success? These biographies are the definitive portraits of these five entrepreneneurial giants businessmen who have their homeland in common and their place in history secured. They had left for economic, social, political or religious reasons but all to find a better life in the United States of America. Relive the tragedies and the triumphs that made them millions while leaving a major imprint on American culture.

Part 4 Levi Strauss Blue Jeans Billionaire

Discover the rags-to-riches story behind one the largest and most legendary fashion labels in the world. Denim is literally the fabric of America, and all because of the vision and perseverance of Levi Strauss. After immigrating from Buttenheim, Germany, Strauss headed west during the Gold Rush to sell his dry goods. His San Francisco fortune came not from gold, but from a small copper rivet and a patent that would soon bring him fortunes he had only dreamed of before. See how his dedication and vision transformed his simple work pants into the most popular clothing product in the world. All over the world people wear jeans. The countless myths and legends that have grown up around the invention of blue jeans and that were deliberately spread by PR strategists at Levi Strauss & Co. at the beginning of the 20th century also contributed to this. The life story of Loeb Strauss, who called himself Levi in ​​America, is one of the most exciting stories in German emigration history, even without these legends. Thanks to his assertiveness, his inventiveness and his feel for the market, he mastered the steep path from the poor Jewish peddler's son from Franconia to the most influential and also most popular businessman in San Francisco. The documentary takes the viewer on a journey back in time by following the arduous path of the young Loeb Strauss from Buttenheim via Bremerhaven and New York to San Francisco. It draws an exciting picture of the struggle for survival of the German-Jewish immigrants in America in the 19th century and sheds light on the rapid rise of the haberdashery merchant Levi Strauss, who became a millionaire with the invention of blue jeans and with his Levi's created a cult object of the “American way of life”.

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