Grant served as personal secretary to his father for the last year of his administration, and later held the position of Assistant United States Attorney in New York.

Other members of the extended Grant family, their associates, and many innocent people likewise invested.

This unsustainable practice, akin to a Ponzi scheme, led to the firm's bankruptcy in 1884 – setting off a financial panic.

When Ulysses Jr. was back on his feet financially, he bought Merryweather Farm in Salem Center, Westchester County, New York.

San Diego voters helped finance $700,000 for the $1.5 million needed to construct the hotel after Grant lacked the funds to do so.

[1] During his time in San Diego, Grant became a close associate of Charles T. Hinde, E. S. Babcock, and John D. Spreckels.

Hinde and Grant served on the boards of directors of multiple banks and invested in many companies and business ventures together.

Grant died on September 25, 1929 at age 77 at the Sandberg Lodge on the Ridge Route north of Los Angeles while on a road trip.