William Alfred Paine was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 businessman who co-founded the stock broker

Stock broker

A stock broker or stockbroker is a regulated professional broker who buys and sells shares and other securities through market makers or Agency Only Firms on behalf of investors...

age firm, Paine Webber

Paine Webber

Paine Webber and Company was an American stock brokerage and asset management firm that was acquired by the Swiss bank UBS AG in 2000. The company was founded in 1880 in Boston, Massachusetts, by William Alfred Paine and Wallace G. Webber. Operating with two employees, they leased premises at 48...

.

He began his career in finance in 1873 as a clerk at a bank in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

. In 1880, with a loan from his father, he partnered with Wallace G. Webber to create the brokerage firm, Paine, Webber & C. They became members of both the Boston

Boston Stock Exchange

The Boston Stock Exchange is a regional stock exchange located in Boston, Massachusetts. The third-oldest stock exchange in the United States, it was founded in 1834...

 and New York Stock Exchange

New York Stock Exchange

The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...

s.
In 1887, William Paine married Ruth Felton Ward with whom he had two sons and three daughters. Outside of building a successful brokerage business, in 1899 William Paine invested in the Copper Range Consolidated Company, a major mining venture in the "Copper Country

Copper Country

The Copper Country is an area in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States, including all of Keweenaw County, Michigan and most of Houghton, Baraga and Ontonagon counties. The area is so named as copper mining was prevalent there from 1845 until the late 1960s, with one mine ...

" of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

, for which he served as president. The town of Painesdale, Michigan

Painesdale, Michigan

Painesdale is an unincorporated community in Houghton County, Michigan, United States. Painesdale is located in Adams Township along M-26, southwest of South Range. Painesdale has a post office with ZIP code 49955.-History:...

 was named for him and Freda, Michigan

Freda, Michigan

Freda, Michigan is an unincorporated community fifteen miles west of Houghton, Michigan, United States in the Stanton Township. Once a booming, dynamic town, Freda was a key part of the copper industry in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, on the western edge of the Keweenaw Peninsula...

 is named for his daughter.

After running his highly successful brokerage business for nearly fifty years, William Paine died just a few weeks before the Wall Street Crash of 1929

Wall Street Crash of 1929

The Wall Street Crash of 1929 , also known as the Great Crash, and the Stock Market Crash of 1929, was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout...

. His son, F. Ward Paine, took over as head of the company.