Raskob, John Jacob: businessman; one of the founders and vice president of General Motors. Founder and vice president of Empire State, Inc. Helped reorganize E I duPont de Nemours and Company, which made money selling gunpowder during World War I, and bought a controlling interest in General Motors. Raskob conceived the idea of allowing people to buy cars on the installment plan. Financier/owner of the Empire State Building. Although a Republican, he became Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, 1928, and engineered the nomination of his friend Alfred E Smith to challenge Republican Herbert Hoover for the presidency. Both Smith and Raskob endured blistering attacks concerning their patriotism and their religion (they were both Catholic). Smith lost the election, but the ordeal of the election helped Raskob and Smith cement their friendship.
