Tom Poor always vowed to never live up to his namesake. The seventh son of an iron worker, Tom spent years building his successful steel manufacturing company. His success allowed him to provide a lifestyle for his wife and two children that no one in the Poor family had ever had. His company employed 135 people, and his two children were taking on more responsibilities at the company as Tom got older.

Just before Tom’s 70th birthday, he made a startling announcement to his family and company. A large steel conglomerate had offered him $15 million for his company, and he verbally accepted the offer. He assured his employees and children that their jobs were safe based on a handshake agreement he’d made with the buyer. He assumed that $15 million was more than enough to allow him a comfortable lifestyle since his $500,000 salary and benefits package had provided so much for his family to that point.