We are told that Gatsby came up from essentially nothing, and that the first time he met Daisy Buchanan, he was “a penniless young man.” His fortune, we are told, was the result of a bootlegging business – he “bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago” and sold illegal alcohol over the counter.
When Cody died, he left Gatsby $25,000, but Cody's mistress prevented him from claiming his inheritance. Gatsby then dedicated himself to becoming a wealthy and successful man. Nick sees neither Gatsby nor Daisy for several weeks after their reunion at Nick's house.
In the story, F Scott through Nick explains that James Gatz became an entirely new person and made his riches through organized crime. In the 1920s, many people were known to smuggle, sell, and distribute tons of alcohol. This became a way of life for many people- including the main character of this classic novel.
According to Nick, how did Gatsby make his money? He inherited it from his late employer.
Though Gatsby has always wanted to be rich, his main motivation in acquiring his fortune was his love for Daisy Buchanan, whom he met as a young military officer in Louisville before leaving to fight in World War I in 1917.
When Cody died, he left Gatsby $25,000, but Cody's mistress prevented him from claiming his inheritance. Gatsby then dedicated himself to becoming a wealthy and successful man.
Gatsby tells him that it took him just three years to earn the money to buy it. Nick questions this because Gatsby told him he inherited his money, but then Gatsby tells him that he did but he lost most of it in the Panic before the war.
Upon seeing the shirts, Daisy cries and explains, “It makes me sad because I've never seen such—such beautiful shirts before.” One reason for Daisy's reaction could be that she only cares about material goods, and so something like fine clothing can make her feel affection for Gatsby.
Nick grew up in the "middle West," (what we call the Midwest), in a wealthy family that was "something of a clan" (1.5). His family made their money from a wholesale hardware business his grandfather's brother began after sending a substitute to fight for him in the Civil War.
Daisy isn't really talking about—or weeping over—the shirts from England. Her strong emotional reaction comes from the excitement of Gatsby having the proper wealth, and perhaps remorse over the complexity of the situation; he is finally a man she could marry, but she is already wed to Tom.
Tom tells George that the car belongs to Jay Gatsby who lives in West Egg. George walks to West Egg where he shoots Gatsby in his pool, killing him instantly, before taking his own life. Gatsby is 32 years old. Of all Gatsby's high society friends, only one, Owl-Eyes attends Gatsby's funeral.
The importance of time and the past manifests itself in the confrontation between Gatsby and Tom. Gatsby's obsession with recovering a blissful past compels him to order Daisy to tell Tom that she has never loved him. Gatsby needs to know that she has always loved him, that she has always been emotionally loyal to him.
Jay Gatsby – $1 billion
Other than the fact that he regularly throws lavish parties at his estate in West Egg, New York, of course. What is this?
Dan Cody was the physical embodiment of Gatsby's ideations of wealth and power. Cody dies mysteriously while off with his lover, Ella Kaye, who evidently also stole the inheritance he left for Gatsby.
○ Dan Cody left Gatsby $25,000, but Ella Kaye cheated him out of it and took all of Dan Cody's money. All gatsby was left with was everything that Dan Cody had taught him.
Gatsby was born "James Gatz," the son of poor farmers, in North Dakota. However, he was deeply ambitious and determined to be successful. He changed his name to "Jay Gatsby" and learned the manners of the rich on the yacht of Dan Cody, a wealthy man who he saved from a destructive storm and ended up being employed by.
Tom is magnitudes of order wealthier than Gatsby.
However, while Nick is wealthy, he is nowhere near as wealthy as the Buchanans or Gatsby—he expresses surprise both that Tom is able to afford bringing ponies from Lake Forest ("It was hard to realize that a man in my own generation was wealthy enough to do that" (1.16), and that Gatsby was able to buy his own mansion ...
This is at the very end of the novel. Of the late Gatsby, Tom says, “That fellow had it coming to him. He threw dust in your eyes just like he did in Daisy's….” And that's why it matters that Nick is gay and in love with Gatsby: because Tom's assessment is spot-on, but Nick will never admit it.
It is Gatsby's longing for the American dream that will lead him into the arms of Daisy Buchanan, who symbolizes both wealth and social standing, a woman beyond Gatsby's reach.
Nick first sees Gatsby stretching his arms towards a green light at the end of Daisy's dock. Here, the green light is a symbol of hope.
The color green is traditionally associated with money, and the green light also symbolizes the wealth that Gatsby believes will enable him to win Daisy back from Tom.
Hundreds of people attended Gatsby's parties but no-one comes to his funeral apart from Nick, Gatsby's father, and some servants. A man called 'Owl-eyes', who did attend some of Gatsby's parties, arrives late.
Ewing Klipspringer phones Nick that night, and Nick tells him about Gatsby's funeral. Klipspringer says he can't make it because he has to go to a picnic in Greenwich, Connecticut.
The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."