Kaiser, Henry J.

Henry John Kaiser (1882-1967), American industrialist and founder of a number of industrial corporations including Kaiser Aluminum, one of the largest aluminum-processing organizations in the world. He sat on the board of directors of Bank of America. Its president, Amadeo Giannini, was one of the few bankers to contribute to Franklin D. Roosevelt's (1882-1945) election as US president. During World War II, Kaiser was introduced to President Roosevelt by Giannini. Although Kaiser's company had never built a ship before he met Roosevelt, his industries received contracts for building 35 percent of US ship tonnage during World War II.