[OldDeckHand]

"He wasn't an entrepreneur, but an academic"

You do understand that he owned a plantation, right?

To the degree that he was an academic, almost all of his endeavors in that area came after the conclusion of his political career - and naturally after the founding of the country. He was, before the revolution, a working attorney and a farmer, and to some degree a political activist, penning several well-received treatises on contemporary public policy.

[tanknetter]

You do understand that he owned a plantation, right?

Having been to Monticello on numerous occasions, yes I do. However, in thinking of how ownership of a plantation would equate to him being an "entrepreneur" the old saying "and if my grandmother had wheels she'd be a wagon" comes to mind.

Jefferson's approach to business, as his approach to his other endeavors (government service) was decidedly academic in nature and very idealistic to boot (although saying that may be redundant). Montecello was very much a plaything to him, and the financial state in which he departed life is a testament to that.