Background
Skakel was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Grace Mary (Jordan) and James Curtis Skakel, who were of Dutch Protestant religion.
Skakel was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Grace Mary (Jordan) and James Curtis Skakel, who were of Dutch Protestant religion.
He had an elder brother William (1888–1946), a younger sister Margaret (1894–1983), and a younger brother James Junior. (1899–1984). Skakel began his career as a railroad shipping clerk earning $8 a week. While employed by the railroad, he noticed the price volatility of coal fines for coke, which is a byproduct of producing more-in-demand forms of coal.
At most times, the coal mining companies were forced to store the coke or pay to have it disposed of in rivers.
Skakel came up with an idea to purchase the coke from coal companies. The company would purchase the coke from coal companies and then reprocessed the coke into clean carbon which was used to produce aluminum.
By 1929, Skakel had become a multi-millionaire. The business eventually grew into The Great Lakes Carbon Corporation, which became the one of the largest privately held corporations in the United States.
The two are buried at Saint Mary"s Cemetery in Greenwich, Connecticut.