Finding El Dorado: The Rise and Fall of the Jenks Business Group in Colombia, 1899–1929

Abstract This article explores the development of a group of free-standing companies in Colombia in the first decades of the twentieth century. The article illustrates how the British investor Shirley Jenks, who closely matches the description of the “gentlemanly capitalist” social class, leveraged “free-standing companies” as an investment vehicle to construct interconnected strategic business interests. The article illustrates the versatility offered by “free-standing companies” and how, in combination with “collaborating elites,” the mechanisms of the London capital market could be used to construct and administer a significant business empire in the periphery with little local presence or direct influence.