William Lewis Moody, Jr.

In 1889, Moody set up the private bank W. L. Moody and Company,. In 1905, he founded American National Insurance Company, which, at the time of Moody's death, was the biggest one west of the Mississippi River.

In 1907, Moody founded City National Bank. He was President of the bank until he died. In 1953, the bank's name was changed to Moody National Bank in his honor.

Moody's business interests also included ventures outside of the financial arena. In 1923 Moody purchased the Galveston Daily News, the oldest newspaper in Texas, from Alfred H. Belo. He later expanded his media interests by acquiring the Galveston Tribune.

In 1930, Moody founded the National Hotel Company. His holdings at one time included the Galvez Hotel in Galveston and the Menger Hotel in San Antonio, Texas. In 1931, the company took control of a financially troubled Conrad Hilton's hotels, hiring Hilton to help manage the company. The merger later ended with Hilton taking back some of the hotels he had brought to the group.

Moody's parents were Col. William Lewis Moody and Pherabe Elizabeth Moody, née Bradley. Moody was born on January 25, 1865, in Fairfield, Texas. After attending boarding schools in Virginia, he attended Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. Following that, he studied law at the University of Texas before going to work at his father's cotton business in Galveston in 1886.

On August 26, 1890, Moody married Libbie Rice Shearn. They had four children:Mary Elizabeth (who married Edwin Clyde Northen), William Lewis III, Shearn, and Libbie (who married Clark W. Thompson). Their family home, "The Moody Mansion", is now a museum. Mary later took over many of the family businesses after Moody's death.