3. The heritage of the Jewish factory owner

In Western Europe, upstart artisans and rich traders became the first factory owners. In Poland, most early Christian entrepreneurs were landowners, senior state officials, and scions of other rich families. In contrast, few early Polish-Jewish entrepreneurs came from rich families. They came mainly from middle-class, downwardly mobile families. There were few cultural and psychological differences in the backgrounds of early Jewish entrepreneurs and workers. Entrepreneurs were distinguished from workers mainly by their intelligence, energy, and agility. Yet most Jewish owners were reluctant to hire Jewish workers, seeing them as competitive threats.