Heralding the Next Great Fuel Revolution

Over a half century ago, my family made a major investment — in a unique energy source that we knew would someday be at the heart of a great fuel revolution.

But a few years later, as my father, my uncle and I walked up Park Avenue, we made a momentous decision, and I took the above photo to mark the occasion.

Our decision was to sell — to take our profits and come back another day when the technology for that great fuel revolution was ready.

It has taken many years. But now, that day has finally come.

And, as I’ll explain in a moment, it could change the world of energy as we know it. But it won’t be the first time.

Indeed …

The History of the Western World
Is the Story of Energy Revolutions

Over the past two centuries, every great leap forward has been driven by a corresponding technological advance related to energy.

Coal — along with the steam engine and the transcontinental railroad — catapulted the economy into the new industrial age.

Electricity lit up the nation’s cities, transformed communications and set off a chain reaction of inventions, innovations and changes that continue to this day.

Gasoline and the internal combustion engine drove the next great fuel revolutions, as Henry Ford began to mass produce the Model T.

Each of these energy revolutions was sparked by a new technology.

Each was powered by a new source of fuel.

And each made early investors wealthy beyond their wildest dreams …

J.P. Morgan and
The Railroad Revolution

In the late 19th century, the B&O and Union Pacific railroads became the most visible leaders of a new and vital form of transportation.

But it was the financier John Pierpont Morgan who took the greatest advantage of that technology through smart investing:

He gained control of the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad in the same year that the transcontinental railroad was completed — 1869.

And that was just the beginning!

In the next two decades, he also took over the New York, West Shore & Buffalo Railroad, the Philadelphia & Reading and the Chesapeake & Ohio.

He reorganized each of these companies. He modernized the entire industry. And in the process, he vastly increased his own personal wealth.

How much? J.P. Morgan amassed a fortune of about $1.3 billion, approximately equivalent to $28 billion today.

Without making even one more penny, he would still be among the ten richest people in the world today.

The Electric Revolution
and the Making of a Giant

Morgan was also a big mover and shaker in the modernization of the electric power industry.

In 1892, capitalizing on the inventions Thomas Edison pioneered, he arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company, to form General Electric, still one of the largest companies in the world.

Another early investor in GE and the railroad industry: The Vanderbilt family.

In fact, it was Cornelius Vanderbilt and his heirs who dominated the era known as the “Gilded Age,” largely through shrewd bets in the great fuel revolutions of their time.

Adjusting for the subsequent growth in the U.S. economy, Vanderbilt’s fortune at the time of his death would be equal to approximately $143 billion today.

The Oil Revolution Cements
a New Definition of Wealth

John D. Rockefeller is the only person in American history who can claim an even greater personal fortune than Morgan’s or Vanderbilt’s, and it was ALSO largely due to another major fuel: Oil!

Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Company and pioneered vertical integration for the industry, controlling development, refining, distribution and marketing. Plus, at the same time, he also integrated the industry horizontally — investing in other, related fuels.

Within a decade, his companies had achieved a virtual monopoly over the industry, emerging as the largest corporate empire in the entire world.

How much would his fortune be worth in today’s dollars? Approximately $700 billion, far more than any other individual ever.

But that’s history. What’s far more pressing is the fact that, right now, we are …

At the Cusp of a New Fuel Revolution

Crude oil has served us well for over a century. But now, all that is changing — and fast:

We have an explosion in energy demand from emerging markets.

We have major supply constraints, challenges and threats, some of which could explode to the surface in a matter of months or even weeks.

We have every reason to believe that crude oil simply cannot continue to be the primary fuel source of energy in this century.

And even if the economics were not so bad, strategically, we know that relying so heavily on a single fuel source produced mostly in volatile regions of the world is a mistake of monumental dimensions.

A new civil war is emerging in Iraq — a country in turmoil that still controls some of the world’s largest petroleum reserves.

The Arab spring has turned into an Arab winter, threatening Egypt, Libya, Syria and their neighbors.

Iran, the world’s 4th largest producer, could soon be at war with Israel.

Even Russia, the world’s 2nd largest producer, is beginning to fear similar social unrest domestically.

Fortunately, however, there is an alternative, and I’m not talking about a utopian vision of solar or wind power.

I’m referring to an energy source available in vast quantities just waiting to be tapped — the same source my family invested in over a half century ago. And it’s right here in the U.S.

This new fuel source has the potential to spark a revolution that could meet our vast energy needs — not just for a decade or a generation, but for a century and beyond.

Moreover, just as with coal, electricity and crude oil, early investors have the opportunity to build very substantial wealth for their families.

This Is So Timely That I’m Going to
Do Something I’ve Never Done Before

I assume you know Sean Brodrick. If not, it’s about time you met him.

He is one the earliest proponents of this new energy source.

And he’s finding the companies that he believes could become the 21st century’s version of General Electric or Standard Oil.

In fact, this is so timely — and so potentially profitable — that I’m doing something I’ve never done before:

For the rest of this week, I’m turning ALL of our regular morning Money and Markets issues over to Sean Brodrick.

Don’t worry. Our full team will be back as usual next week. But I feel this opportunity is just too important to handle in any other way.

Each day this week, Sean will give you new insights about this great fuel revolution — and point you to new ways to profit from it.

Plus, he’ll show you why the time was not a half century ago, when my family first saw this opportunity on the distant horizon.

Nor is it going to wait for some uncertain moment in the future.

The time is here and now.

So don’t miss even ONE of Sean’s morning reports this week. They will open your eyes — and your pathway to unusual wealth-building potential.

Good luck and God bless!

Martin