Barbed wire salesman, manufacturer, gambler, investor, John Warne "Bet-a-Million" Gates was born in Turner Junction, DuPage County, Illinois, to Asel and Mary (Warne) Gates. His father was a farmer. His two older brothers were killed before they reached 20 years of age, leaving him an only child at fifteen. Gates' first business venture was in hardware. After little success, he went to work selling barbed wire in Texas for the Washburn-Moen Company. On his arrival in San Antonio in 1876, Gates set up a barbed wire corral in a rented plaza and invited ranchers to bring in their meanest fence-busters to prove the slim wires would hold them. The demonstration was a success, and Gates returned to Illinois with more orders than the company could fill. When he was refused a partnership, Gates quit Washburn-Moen and moved to St. Louis, where he began manufacturing and distributing unlicensed and un-patented barbed wire. When court orders couldn't beat him, his competition joined him and Gates became legal once again. Gates went on to form a string of companies to produce barbed wire: Consolidated Steel and Wire Company, American Steel and Wire Company, Illinois Steel Company, and Republic Steel Company. Gates was also a canny investor in other people's businesses. He invested in the Kansas City, Pittsburg & Gulf Railroad, at Arthur Stilwell's request, and later took over, renaming it the Kansas City and Southern Railroad. He also invested in the Spindletop oil field, an investment which resulted in the Texas Company, now Texaco. This investment earned Gates millions. Gates contributed much to the city of Port Arthur following his initial investment in Stilwell's scheme. He constructed new docks, the First National Bank, the city's first light, power, and ice company, the area's first rice mill, and the Plaza Hotel. He contributed money to build Port Arthur Business College and St. Mary Hospital. He was instrumental in having Port Arthur declared an international port of entry. After his death, his widow contributed funds to build the Gates Memorial Library in memory of Gates and their son Charles.

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