[1] Its board and stockholders included a wide range of leading American financiers and industrialists.
With an initial capitalization of 50 million dollars and located at 120 Broadway in Manhattan, its goals were to invest in foreign companies and projects, especially in China & Russia during France and the United Kingdom's fiscal distress caused by World War I.
[2] Its ambitious plans were stymied by opposition from the Wilson administration and the focus of attention on supporting the war effort.
Russia fell into civil war and China was chaotic after the death of its leader in 1916.
Despite years of planning, construction work was never begun on the Corporation's elaborate projects in Russia and China.