Amadeo Pietro Giannini had seen disaster before. He’d survived an earthquake, the stock market crash and world war. And he’d done so with remarkable aplomb and grace. His childhood had been marked by struggle due to the violent death of his father. When his mother remarried, Giannini, who was known as “A.P.,” left school and worked furiously to build his stepfather’s produce business, eventually taking over, making it a success and selling his interest to his employees.

Retiring at age 31, Giannini had proven himself resourceful, industrious, and deeply devoted to the greater good. Born in 1870 to immigrant parents, Giannini was already a wealthy man when he started the Bank of Italy in downtown San Francisco in 1904. His father-in-law, Guiseppi Cuneo, owned a large stake in Columbus Savings & Loan, and Giannini served on its board.