80. The Missed Opportunity: Western Union Rejects Alexander Graham Bell
Year: 1896
Location: Rochester, NY (then the HQ)
Company: Western Union
Estimated Damage Value: $551.7 billion*
In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell approached Western Union in Rochester, NY, with his telephone invention. However, Western Union, underestimating the technology’s potential and envisioning a future powered by telegrams, rejected Bell’s pitch, missing out on what would become a $551.7 billion industry.

Following Western Union’s rejection, which included William Orton’s scornful laughter at Bell’s proposal, Bell, undeterred and leveraging his background as a teacher for the hearing-impaired, founded Bell Telephone. This company would later establish a monopoly in the American telecommunications sector.