He was about half
a mile ahead of the next man at the end of the race!
The "999" did what it was intended to do: It advertised the fact that I
could build a fast motorcar. A week after the race I formed the Ford
Motor Company. I was vice-president, designer, master mechanic,
superintendent, and general manager. The capitalization of the company
was one hundred thousand dollars, and of this I owned 25 1/2 per cent.
The total amount subscribed in cash was about twenty-eight thousand
dollars--which is the only money that the company has ever received for
the capital fund from other than operations. In the beginning I thought
that it was possible, notwithstanding my former experience, to go
forward with a company in which I owned less than the controlling share.
I very shortly found I had to have control and therefore in 1906, with
funds that I had earned in the company, I bought enough stock to bring
my holdings up to 51 per cent, and a little later bought enough more to
give me 58-1/2 per cent. The new equipment and the whole progress of the
company have always been financed out of earnings.
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