The 19th century mining bonanza turned Virginia City into the most important industrial city between Denver and San Francisco, and it turned destitute prospectors from all over the world into millionaires. They built mansions, hospitals, churches, opera houses and schools, and imported furniture, fashions, and entertainment from Europe and the Orient. They helped finance the Civil War, and went on to build empires around the world. Among the finest examples is San Francisco, a city built with Comstock silver.

The Ophir, Gould, Curry and Consolidated Virginia mines those consisting of the "Big Bonanza" of 1873 brought out at least $300 million in mineral deposits and made telecommunications giant John Mackay a virtual overnight millionaire. The Comstock king spent millions of those proceeds on Nevada's School of Mines. In addition to Mackay, the "Bonanza Kings" included Fair, Flood and O'Brien. Other notable icons of the Comstock included engineer Adolph Sutro, banker William Sharon, entrepreneur George Hearst, and madame Julia Bulette.