Ulysses S. "Buck" Grant Jr. (July 22, 1852 – September 25, 1929) was an American attorney and entrepreneur. He was the second son of President Ulysses S. Grant. Early life and education Grant was born in Bethel, Ohio, on July 22, 1852. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1870, Harvard University in 1874, and Columbia Law School in 1876. Career Grant served as personal secretary to his father for part of the time he was president, and as Assistant United States Attorney in New York. Grant then worked in private practice and became wealthy. He partnered in a banking and brokerage firm with Ferdinand Ward. Grant and his father each put $100,000 in the firm, as two of the four partners, and asked veterans and millionaires to invest. Neither Grant practiced due diligence in overseeing the operations of the firm, Grant & Ward. The Grants were earning 2-3% per month on their money, but didn't care that Ward was using the Grant name to bring in new investors, whose money would pay the earlier investors. Other members of the extended Grant family, their associates, and many innocent people likewise invested. As such Ponzi schemes are unsustainable in the long run, the Ward, Geoffrey C. (2012), A Disposition to Be Rich: How a Small-Town Pastor's Son Ruined an American President, Brought on a Wall Street Crash, and Made Himself the Best-Hated Man in the United States. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. . (The author is his subject's great-grandson.) in 1884 – setting off a financial panic – and the Grants lost their initial investments and the father was virtually wiped out. Ward was convicted of fraud and served over 6 years in prison of a 10 year sentence. The elder Grant died the next year, but not before testifying against Ward. Historians generally consider that he was unaware of any irregularities in the firm's business; the extent of Grant Jr.'s culpability is less certain, but he was never tried. Real estate When Ulysses Jr. was back on his feet financially, he bought Merryweather Farm in Salem Center, Westchester County, New York. His wife's health failing, Grant's mother suggested moving to California since his younger brother, Jesse Root Grant, was already living in San Diego. The Grants moved into a three-story house in San Diego in 1893. Grant set up a law practice, then gave it up to invest in real