Joseph Francis Ladue founded Dawson City and became a very rich man by expoiting the gold rush that way instead of mining (he ended up making some money directl

Joseph Francis Ladue founded Dawson City and became a very rich man by expoiting the gold rush that way instead of mining (he ended up making some money directly from mining stakes as well in the end though). I believe his reputation and life story are certainly one of the foundations of that popular idea. I don't know of any empirical studies of commerce in the Yukon gold rush that demonstrated that the merchants were the fattest of the fat cats in the the whole scenario though. Lots of stories of scammer and schemers making big bucks too, but again, who really knows? Very few legitimately struck it rich on gold, that's for sure.