William Volker (/ˈvoʊlkər/; German: [ˈfɔlkɐ]; April 1, 1859 – November 4, 1947) was an entrepreneur who turned a picture frame business into a multimillion-dollar empire and who then gave away his fortune to shape much of Kansas City, Missouri, both through the William Volker Fund and anonymously, earning him the nickname of "Mr.
Wanting to further his education, he began studying accounting at Professor J. Dyhrenfurt's business college in Chicago, where he was hired a few months later as a junior teacher.
[3] In 1876, he left the college and took a position as a bookkeeper for a large picture frame company owned by another German born immigrant, Charles Brachvogel.
But wanting to start his own picture frame business, he took his savings and relocated to Kansas City in 1882, founding the William Volker & Company at 6th and Delaware.
His picture frame wholesale business boomed, expanding to include a popular line of window shades and a large selection of home furnishings.