John D. Rockefeller

John D. Rockefeller was born in Richford, New York on July 8th, 1839 to William A. Rockefeller and Eliza Davison. Though he was destined to become one of the richest men in history, his beginnings were not so grand. Rockefeller's father was a traveling salesman who preferred wandering throughout the country to staying at home with his family. He left his wife, Eliza, to raise and care for their six children by herself. Rockefeller moved several times during his childhood years, to Moravia and then Owego in New York, then to Strongsville, near Cleveland, in Ohio. Two years after moving there, Rockefeller, at age 16, got his first job a a bookkeeper's assistant. He worked very hard and gave ten percent of every paycheck to church.

Four years later, Rockefeller went into the produce commission business with a partner,
Maurice B. Clark; they named their business Clark & Rockefeller.

About this time, the production and distribution of oil became a popular money-making method. Though only in his twenties, Rockefeller knew a business opportunity when he saw one, and decided to invest in the emerging industry. Rockefeller and three other men, including M. B. Clark, his two brothers, and a man named Samuel Andrews, built a refinery in the Cleveland area. A few years later, Rockefeller bought out the Clark brothers for $72,500, and renamed the firm Rockefeller & Andrews.

Rockefeller was a smart business man. He knew when and how to borrow money, invest profits, and use the waste produced in his refinery to raise his income. By 1867, two more men, including John's brother and a man named Henry M. Flagler had joined Rockefeller & Andrews; thus, the name was once again changed, this time to Rockefeller, Andrews & Flagler. John's refinery was now the largest in the world.

But Rockefeller, Andrews & Flagler did not stop growing. On the contrary, by 1870, business was booming and Rockefeller's refinery now made more money than any other. John changed the name of his refinery to Standard Oil. Standard Oil absorbed many of the refineries in Cleveland and New York.

Rockefeller had just one problem in the course of his career. By 1904, Rockefeller and his partners owned corporations in over a dozen states. Because it was difficult to manage all of them, Rockefeller organized all of his corporations into a single large corporation, called the Standard Oil Trust. It was around this time that people began to accuse Rockefeller of monopolizing the oil industry. To monopolize an industry is to “obtain exclusive possession of”¹ an industry. In truth, this is exactly what Rockefeller had done. He had a hand in virtually every aspect of the oil industry in the United States.

In 1904 a woman named Ida Tarbell published an article titled The History of the Standard Oil Company. Through the publication of this article, Tarbell made apparent the monopolization of the oil industry by Rockefeller. The state of Ohio took notice of her article and forced the Standard Oil Trust to dissolve.

Rockefeller continued to be successful, even after this hard blow. Still giving ten percent of every paycheck to church, he also made considerable investments in several colleges, including Spelman College, University of Chicago, and Denison University. He built the Rockefeller Center in New York City and invested in many medical ventures, including the research of hookworm disease, which, thanks to his investments, was eradicated. He gave away about $550 million in total.

Rockefeller died on May 23, 1937. He had had two goals in life: to earn $100,000 and to reach the age of 100. The first of these goals he most definitely reached, but he died two years before he turned 100. John Rockefeller is estimated to have been worth about $1,500,000,000. Given the worth of the dollar then and now, he was, by far, the richest American in history.

John should inspire all of us to pursue our goals, reach for the stars, and never say never. He is proof that, as long as we are willing to work hard and never give up, we can accomplish whatever we set our minds to.