He then cooperated with his father's sugar refining firm and formed Wall Street connections through the brokerage house C. L. Rathborne & Company.
After his father died in 1891, he purchased a large tract of land and developed into a residential neighborhood called Elmhurst.
He developed the neighborhood through the Cord Meyer Company, which he created and would later be taken over by his sons Charles G., J. Edward, and George C., with his brother Christian M. as its president.
For many years, he was a member of the executive committee of the Home Insurance Company together with Cornelius N. Bliss and Elbridge G. Snow.
He fought for control of the county with Long Island City mayor Patrick Gleason and won.
He was Chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee from 1904 to 1906, and was opposed to William Randolph Hearst's nomination as gubernatorial candidate in the 1906 election.