American Express vs Capital One: Founders, CEOs and History
American Express was founded in 1850 by Henry Wells, William Fargo, John Warren Butterfield and is led by Stephen Squeri. Capital One was founded in 1988 by Richard Fairbank, Nigel Morris and is led by Richard Fairbank.
Company facts
American Express
- Founded
- 1850
- Headquarters
- New York, New York
- Current CEO
- Stephen Squeri
- Employees
- 76,800
Capital One
- Founded
- 1988
- Headquarters
- Tysons, Virginia, United States
- Current CEO
- Richard Fairbank
- Employees
- 76,300
Founders
American Express
Henry Wells
The founding of American Express is a fascinating story of intense 19th-century corporate rivalry culminating in a monopolistic merger.
William Fargo
William Fargo co-founded American Express in 1850 alongside Henry Wells and John Butterfield, bringing operational discipline and route management expertise to the merger of competing express businesses.
John Warren Butterfield
John Warren Butterfield was one of the three founders of American Express in 1850 and served as a director, bringing the organizational resources, political connections and financial backing that made the merger viable.
Capital One
Richard Fairbank
Richard Fairbank co-founded Capital One with Nigel Morris, originating the business in 1988 as a specialized credit card division within Signet Bank before spinning it off into an independent company in 1994.
Nigel Morris
Nigel Morris is a highly distinguished British businessman, globally recognized venture capitalist, and the massively influential co-founder of the Capital One Financial Services empire.
CEOs and their tenures
American Express
- Howard L. Clark Sr.1960–1977
President and Chief Executive Officer
Howard Clark became chief executive in 1960 and ran American Express until 1977. He inherited a charge card business that was losing money two years after launch and pushed it to profitability by repositioning it as a premium product, raising the merchant disc…
Source - James D. Robinson III1977–1993
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
James Robinson III presided over American Express during a period of both genuine growth and serious strategic overreach.
Source - Harvey Golub1993–2001
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Harvey Golub inherited a company left unfocused and financially weaker by James Robinson III's financial conglomerate strategy.
Source - Kenneth Chenault2001–2018
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Kenneth Chenault led American Express for 17 years through two severe shocks: the September 11 attacks in 2001, which hit its lower Manhattan operations and its travel-dependent business weeks after he became chief executive, and the 2008 financial crisis, dur…
Source - Stephen J. Squeri2018–present
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Stephen Squeri took over from Kenneth Chenault in February 2018 and has run the most financially productive period in the company's history, with FY2025 total revenues net of interest expense of $72.2 billion and net income of $10.8 billion, both records.
Source
Capital One
- Richard Fairbank1988–present
Founder, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
One of the longest-tenured and most visionary CEOs in global banking history, transforming a small credit card project into a top-10 US bank by assets and, after the 2025 Discover merger, the largest US credit card issuer by loans.
Source - Nigel Morris1994–2004
Co-Founder
Co-founded Capital One in 1994 alongside Richard Fairbank after the pair pitched their information-based strategy to Signet Bank.
Source
Timeline: American Express and Capital One side by side
1850American Express
American Express founded in Buffalo, New York
Henry Wells, William Fargo and John Butterfield merged three competing express businesses on March 18, 1850 to form the American Express Company, an unincorporated joint-stock association capitalized at 150,000 dollars.
1882American Express
Money order launched
American Express introduced its own money order, competing directly with the postal money order the United States Post Office had offered since 1864.
1891American Express
Traveler's cheque invented
Marcellus Berry created the American Express Traveler's Cheque after president J.C. Fargo struggled to cash letters of credit on a European trip in 1890.
1917American Express
Federal control of the express industry
Federal control of the railroads began in December 1917, and in 1918 the domestic express operations of American Express and its rivals were consolidated into the American Railway Express Company.
1958American Express
First American Express charge card
American Express issued its first charge card on October 1, 1958, printed on paper with a 6 dollar annual fee, after signing up more than 250,000 card members before launch.
1966American Express
Gold Card introduced
American Express launched the Gold Card in 1966 for higher-spending executives and frequent travelers, the first tier above the standard card and the start of the graded premium lineup that later added the Platinum Card and the Centurion Card.
1984American Express
Platinum Card launched during the financial supermarket build-out
American Express introduced The Platinum Card by invitation in 1984 with a 250 dollar annual fee, creating the ultra-premium card category.
1988Capital One
Conception of Information-Based Strategy at Signet Financial: Richard Fairbank and Nigel Morris pitch Signet Bank management on using data science and computerized testing to personalize credit card o…
1993American Express
Harvey Golub refocuses the company
Harvey Golub became chief executive in 1993 and unwound the conglomerate: the Shearson brokerage went to Primerica's Smith Barney and The Boston Company to Mellon Bank in 1993, and Lehman Brothers was spun off in 1994.
1994Capital One
Spin-Off from Signet and NYSE Initial Public Offering: Signet Financial spins off its credit card division as Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF), debuting with an initial public offering.
1996Capital One
Pioneered Zero-Percent Introductory APR Balance Transfers: Capital One invents the modern credit card balance transfer with 0% introductory APR, disrupting traditional fixed-rate credit cards and capt…
1999American Express
Centurion Card launched
American Express created the Centurion Card in 1999, an invitation-only metal card that became the top tier of its lineup. The company has never published its fee schedule, and the product functions mainly as a positioning device for the cards below it.
2000Capital One
Launch of "What's In Your Wallet" Advertising Campaign: Debuted the well-known "What's In Your Wallet" national branding campaign featuring Vikings, later starring Samuel L.
2001American Express
Kenneth Chenault becomes chief executive
Kenneth Chenault became chief executive in January 2001, weeks before the September 11 attacks damaged the company's lower Manhattan operations and cut travel spending sharply.
2005Capital One
Acquisition of Hibernia National Bank: Acquired New Orleans-based Hibernia National Bank for $5.0 billion, acquiring over 300 retail bank branches in Louisiana and Texas to diversify beyond credit car…
2008American Express
Conversion to a bank holding company
On November 10, 2008 the Federal Reserve Board approved applications by American Express Company and American Express Travel Related Services to become bank holding companies, on conversion of American Express Centurion Bank from an industrial loan company int…
2012Capital One
Acquisition of ING Direct USA for $9 Billion: Completed transformational $9.0 billion purchase of ING Direct USA, adding $80+ billion in core deposits and creating digital banking leader Capital One 3…
2015Capital One
Commitment to All-In Cloud Migration with AWS: Fairbank announces bold decision to exit all company-owned data centers and migrate 100% of core banking applications and machine learning workloads to A…
2016American Express
Costco co-brand ends
Costco moved its United States co-branded card to Citigroup and Visa on June 20, 2016, ending a 16-year exclusive relationship after the two sides failed to agree terms, and stopped accepting American Express cards in its warehouses.
2018American Express
Stephen Squeri becomes chairman and chief executive
Stephen Squeri succeeded Kenneth Chenault in February 2018 after more than three decades inside the company, including spells as chief information officer and group president of Global Corporate Services.
2020American Express
Pandemic hits travel and entertainment spending
COVID-19 restrictions cut the travel and entertainment spending American Express depends on, and total revenues net of interest expense fell from 43.6 billion dollars in 2019 to 36.1 billion dollars in 2020, with net income down to 3.1 billion dollars.
2020Capital One
Final Data Center Shutdown: First All-Cloud US Bank: Shut down its eighth and final enterprise physical data center, becoming the first major US financial institution to operate entirely on modern clo…
2021Capital One
Launch of Capital One Venture X Premium Travel Card: Disrupted the luxury travel credit card market with the Venture X card, offering premium travel lounge access and competitive annual fees to challe…
2024American Express
Tock acquisition widens the dining platform
American Express agreed in June 2024 to buy Tock, a reservation, table and event management platform, from Squarespace for 400 million dollars in cash, pairing it with Resy, which it had bought in 2019.
2024Capital One
Announced $35.3 Billion Acquisition of Discover Financial: Announced historic agreement to acquire Discover Financial Services for $35.3 billion, creating America's top credit card issuer with a propr…
2025American Express
Platinum refresh and record FY2025 results
American Express unveiled refreshed United States Consumer and Business Platinum Cards on September 18, 2025, raising the annual fee from 695 dollars to 895 dollars and adding statement credits it values at over 3,500 dollars a year.
2025Capital One
Discover acquisition completed: Capital One closed its $35.3 billion all-stock purchase of Discover Financial Services on May 18, 2025.
2026Capital One
Brex acquisition completed: Capital One closed its $5.15 billion acquisition of Brex on April 7, 2026.
Acquisitions
American Express
- Center2025Undisclosed
- Tock2024$400M
- Kabbage2020Undisclosed
- Resy2019Undisclosed
- Loyalty Partner2011$660M
- Thomas Cook corporate travel and United States travel offices1994$375M
Capital One
- Brex2026$5.2B
- Discover Financial Services2025$35.3B
- Wikibuy (Capital One Shopping)2018$150M
- ING Direct USA2012$9B
- HSBC US Credit Card Business2012$31B
Questions about American Express vs Capital One
Who is the CEO of American Express Company and Capital One?
American Express Company is led by Stephen Squeri and Capital One is led by Richard Fairbank. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was American Express Company founded vs Capital One?
American Express Company was founded in 1850 — 138 years before Capital One, which was founded in 1988. American Express Company's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Capital One.
How many employees does American Express Company have compared to Capital One?
American Express Company employs approximately 76,800 people, while Capital One employs approximately 76,300. American Express Company has the larger workforce at 76,800 employees, compared to Capital One's 76,300. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are American Express Company and Capital One headquartered?
Both American Express Company and Capital One are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded American Express Company and Capital One?
American Express Company was founded by Henry Wells, William Fargo, John Warren Butterfield. Capital One was founded by Richard Fairbank, Nigel Morris.
Which company has a longer operating history — American Express Company or Capital One?
American Express Company has been operating for approximately 176 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Capital One has been in operation for around 38 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the American Express vs Capital One overview