John D. Rockefeller

John Davison Rockefeller (July 8,1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American industrialist and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of modern philanthropy. In 1870, he founded Standard Oil Company and aggressively ran it until he officially retired in 1897.

 

Rockefeller founded Standard Oil as an Ohio partnership with his brother along with others. As kerosene and gasoline grew in importance, Rockefeller’s wealth soared and he became the world’s richest man and the first American worth more than a billion dollars. Adjusting for inflation, he is often regarded as the richest person in history.

 

Rockefeller’s parents were William Avery Rockefeller (November 13, 1810 – May 11, 1906) and Eliza (Davison; September 12, 1813 – March 28, 1889.) His father was involved in many horrible things, such as bigamy and philandering. Rockefeller’s father gained a reputation for shady schemes rather than productive work.  Therefore, he was not at home a lot, and thus left his wife to care for their family. But, even through all this, young Rockefeller was a well behaved, serious, and studious boy. His contemporaries described him as reserved, earnest, religious, methodical, and discreet.

 

The reasons that Rockefeller succeeded was because of his techniques of self-reinforcing cycle of buying competing refiners, improving the efficiency of his operations, pressing for discounts on oil shipments, undercutting his competition, making secret deals, raising investment pools, and buying rivals out. In less than four months in 1872, later know as “The Cleveland Conquest” or “The Cleveland Massacre”, Standard Oil had absorbed 22 out of 26 of its competitors.

 

Rockefeller died of arteriosclerosis on May 23, 1937, two months shy of his 98th birthday, at The Casements, his home in Ormond Beach, Florida. He was buried in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland.

 

Rockefeller, at the age of 86, penned the following words to sum up his life;

I was early taught to work as well as play,

My life has been one long holiday,

full of work and full of play—

I dropped the worry on the way—

Ands God was good to everyday.