John D. Rockefeller – Biography of John D. Rockefeller

John Davison Rockefeller, founder of the Standard Oil Company and one of the richest men in the world, was born in Richford, New York, on July 8, 1839; he moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio, at the age of 14. Unafraid of hard work, as a teenager he embarked on a series of small businesses. He got his first office job at age 16, as an accounting assistant at Hewitt & Tuttle, a commission merchant and charger manufacturer.

At the age of 20, Rockefeller, who had prospered at his job, ventured out on his own with a business partner, working as a commission merchant of hay, meat, grain, and other goods. By the close of the company’s first year of business, it had raised $ 450,000.

Rockefeller, a careful and studious businessman who refrained from taking unnecessary risks, saw an opportunity in the oil business in the early 1860s. Seeing oil production rise in western Pennsylvania, he decided to establish an oil refinery near Cleveland, a short drive from Pittsburgh, would be a good deal. In 1863, he opened his first refinery, and within two years it was the largest in the area. It didn’t take long for Rockefeller to convince himself to turn his attention to the oil business.

In 1870, Rockefeller and its associates constituted the Standard Oil Company, which immediately prospered thanks to favorable economic and industrial conditions and the impetus of Rockefeller to streamline company operations and maintain high profit margins. With success came the acquisitions, when Standard began to buy from its competitors.

Standard Oil’s movements were so rapid and extensive that within two years they came to control most of the refineries in the Cleveland area. Then Standard used its size and ubiquity in the region to make favorable deals with the railroads to ship its oil. At the same time, Standard went into business with the purchase of pipelines and terminals, establishing a transportation system for its own products. By controlling (or owning) almost every aspect of the business, Standard’s control of the industry was tightened, and it even bought thousands of acres of forest to obtain the timber the industry required, and to prevent competitors from managing their products. own pipes.

Standard’s footprints grew larger, the company bought competitors in other regions, and it soon aspired to be a leading player in the industry both from coast to coast in the United States and abroad. In just over a decade since its inception, Standard Oil had a near monopoly of the oil business in the United States and consolidated each division under a giant corporate umbrella, with Rockefeller supervising everything. Everything Rockefeller had done up to that point had led to the first American monopoly, or “trust,” and would serve as a guiding light for others who followed him in big business.

With such an aggressive push in the industry, the public and the United States Congress took notice of Standard and his seemingly unstoppable march. Monopoly behavior was not considered kindly, and Standard soon became the epitome of a company that grew too big and too dominant, for the public good. Congress came to the fore in 1890 with the Sherman Antitrust Act, and two years later the Ohio Supreme Court found Standard Oil a monopoly in violation of Ohio law. Always eager to be one step ahead Rockefeller he dissolved the corporation and allowed each property under the Standard banner to be managed by others. However, the overall hierarchy remained largely in place, and Standard’s board retained control of the network of spun-off companies.

Just nine years after the company was shattered by antitrust legislation, those pieces were reassembled in a holding company. In 1911, however, the United States Supreme Court outlawed the new entity in violation of Sherman’s Antitrust Act and was forced to dissolve again.

Rockefeller He was a devoted Baptist and, once retired from the day-to-day operations of running one of the world’s largest corporations (in 1895, at the age of 56), he kept busy in charitable endeavors, becoming one of the world’s most respected philanthropists. of history. His money helped pay for the creation of the University of Chicago (1892), to which he gave more than $ 80 million before his death. He also helped found the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (later to be called Rockefeller University) in New York and the Rockefeller Foundation. In total, he donated more than $ 530 million to various causes.

With his wife, Laura, Rockefeller He had five children, including a daughter, Alice, who died in infancy.

Rockefeller He passed away on May 23, 1937, in Ormond Beach, Florida. His legacy, however, lives on: He is considered one of America’s most important businessmen and is credited with helping shape what this country is today.

His only son, John D. Rockefeller Jr., worked alongside his father as a philanthropist while the elderly Rockefeller was still alive and would carry on his father’s gift legacy.