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September 22, 2016

John D. Rockefeller: Industrialist & Philanthropist

Born in 1839, John D. Rockefeller was an American industrialist and philanthropist who built an oil empire by guaranteeing a uniform quality grade for his standard oil. He was one of the richest men in history. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company was perhaps one of the most powerful monopoly in America. At the time of his death, his wealth was estimated to be worth over half a-trillion dollars.

Fig. 1 From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository
Fig. 1 John D. Rockefeller, 1885 | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository

At the young age of sixteen, Rockefeller began attending community college. He was a student for three months until he found his first job as a produce clerk at a Cleveland commission firm where Rockefeller was the person who bought and sold commodities for clients for a commission. The firm bought and sold shipped grain, coal, and other raw materials. After three months, he was given a raise and became the cashier and bookkeeper for the firm. 1 At the age of nineteen, in 1859, Rockefeller borrowed money from his father and began his first business venture with Maurice B. Clark. They formed their own commission firm. Clark handled all the work in the field, while Rockefeller managed all of the bookkeeping and bank issues. They experienced great success the first year, bringing in $450,000 from buying and trading farm produce and supplies.2 Within that same year the first refinery was erected in Titusville, Pennsylvania. Cleveland became a refining center for the booming new industry, and in 1863, Rockefeller and Clark entered the oil business as refiners. With Samuel Andrews, who had plenty of experience in refining, joining the business, they now operated an oil refinery as well as the commission business. Within two years Clark was bought out by Rockefeller for $72,000. The new firm was named Rockefeller & Andrew, and promptly their business became Cleveland’s largest refinery.3

Shortly afterwards, Rockefeller partnered with his younger brother William, along with S. V. Harkness and H. M. Flagler, who helped set up favorable freight rates on the railroad. By 1870, the use of kerosene was rapidly spreading for the use of lighting. Rockefeller formed the Standard Oil Company of Ohio and within a year they were a one million dollar corporation making forty percent profit.4 Rockefeller bought out most of Cleveland’s refineries, as well as New York, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Rockefeller next turned to new transportation methods: railroads and pipelines. The Pennsylvania Railroad opened up a refinery in an attempt to stop Rockefeller from buying them out. By 1879, Standard Oil became a full industry monopoly by buying out rival refineries and distributing and marketing its products around the world. Standard Oil controlled ninety percent of America’s oil. In 1882, Rockefeller’s properties were combined into the Standard Oil Trust, which ensured that no one would ever be able to buy him out. Standard Oil Trust had an investment of seventy million, and there were forty-two certificate holders, or owners in the trust.5 Rockefeller was a target for muckraking, and people viewed him as greedy and selfish. He was a man who bribed other men to spy on competing companies, or threatened rivals to join the Standard Oil Trust, and he had no problem getting richer by the downfall of other men and their companies.

Fig. 2 Rockefeller University-From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository
Fig. 2 Rockefeller University-From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository

By 1890, the Ohio Supreme Court dissolved the Standard Oil Trust. However, the business was part of Standard Oil of New Jersey and was considered a holding company. Due to its legal designation it could not be touched. By 1911, after many years of arguing in court, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Standard Oil of New Jersey was in violation of the anti-trust laws and forced it to break up into more than thirty individual companies.6 That same year Rockefeller retired from Standard Oil and made a deal with Andrew Carnegie (a Scottish immigrant who made a fortune in the steel industry). Rockefeller sold Carnegie all his investment holdings. In this new role he handled all of Carnegie’s transportation on the Great Lakes. Rockefeller brought in 200 million dollars for the first time.7  In truth, he was not driven solely by profits. Rockefeller became a philanthropist donating to various educational schools, all kinds of religious churches, and scientific causes, and he funded the University of Chicago and the Rockefeller University. The total of Rockefeller’s philanthropies totaled an estimated 900 million dollars.8 He died at the age of ninety-seven, on May 23, 1937.

The impact of Rockefeller and his genius and business acumen are impossible to ignore. He is an icon in America history. In the end, Rockefeller had accomplished his goals. He did not let anything stop him and his ideas from coming to reality. He was a very smart man and used all his knowledge in creating and becoming one of the richest of men, greatest of philanthropists, and a very powerful man. He made a fortune and lived a simple life giving back to society. He made a promise to himself that he would give back ten percent of what he made and he did just that until his death.

  1. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 1998, s.v. “John Davison Rockefeller.”
  2. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 1998, s.v. “John Davison Rockefeller.”
  3. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 1998, s.v. “John Davison Rockefeller.”
  4. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 1998, s.v. “John Davison Rockefeller.”
  5. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 1998, s.v. “John Davison Rockefeller.”
  6. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 1998, s.v. “John Davison Rockefeller.”
  7. Alan Brinkley, American History: Connecting with the Past Volume 2 (Fifteenth Edition, McGraw-Hill Education, 2014), 464-65.
  8. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 1998, s.v. “John Davison Rockefeller.”

Tags from the story

John D. Rockefeller

philanthropist

Robber Baron

Standard Oil Company

Aurora Torres

Hello I’m Aurora Torres and I’m a History Major here at St. Mary’s University and a full time Employee here with the University. History is my passion I love going to Vintage shops, museums and exploring anything that can take me to the past.

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Recent Comments

CA

John D. Rockefeller by Aurora Torres The story was well written my only comment would be that I would like to know more about Rockefeller the man. Background information that would tell me what made him be so ambitious and his struggles. Thank you

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23/09/2016

11:59 am

Celina Resendez

Talk about living the dream! I had no idea Rockefeller had accumulated so much wealth before he passed. I knew his was a big name up North, but the sheer volume of his accomplishments blew me away. If anyone is interested in becoming a successful philanthropist, they may want to take a look into his life. Great work Aurora!

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27/09/2016

11:59 am

Jorge Manzanares

Amazing! I loved how you illustrated his business perspective as well as his philanthropic aspect! Rockefeller along with Carnegie and Morgan were perfect examples of the common trend during their time, the American Dream. Many immigrants and Americans alike believed their opportunities to be endless! All they needed to do was work hard, and eventually they would go from rags to riches! Most people tend to focus on the success and injustices of Rockefeller; however, it is important to note that he also donated a large portion of his wealth. Most people overlook that side of him. Well done!

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04/11/2016

11:59 am

Jezel Luna

For some reason the name “Rockefeller” sounds familiar but I can’t put my finger on it. Reading this article, I came very accustomed with this industrialist. I was surprised to hear that at the age of the 19 he began his first business. Great job really going into depth with all his accomplishments I could tell how successful he was after this reading.

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09/11/2016

11:59 am

Aylin Salinas

It’s crazy that at the age of 19 he began his first business! I’m almost 20 and all I have is student loans! This was a very well written article. I enjoyed reading about how he accumulated his wealth and went on to donate a huge part of it!

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09/11/2016

11:59 am

Mariana Sandoval

This seems like a true “American Dream” story. He started from the bottom and worked his way up to become one of the richest men in American history. I think it’s great that he decided to put some of his profits towards philanthropic causes because if he didn’t, he definitely would have been greedy…

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28/11/2016

11:59 am

Rafael Ortiz Salas

Its crazy to think that Rockefeller was 19 when he started the oil business that has impacted our history and I am only 18. What I like most about him is that when even when he died he gave money back to society. I wish I could follow his footsteps. I enjoyed reading your article, it was very good. $)

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29/11/2016

11:59 am

Maalik Stansbury

Man. He sure did figure out his financial before he passed away. He was a very smart guy who knew what he was doing. I enjoyed reading this article it was very informative and explanatory. It kept me more in depth as a i continued to read more and more. I love it, especially your writing style.

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07/12/2016

11:59 am

Joshua Tinajero

It’s amazing how his strategy to buy other companies rewarded him with great fortune. Too top it off, he was only 19 when he started his own company! Very impressive individual, and very impressive article!

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07/12/2016

11:59 am

Tina Valdez

Rockefeller has a very impressive legacy. 900 million dollars in philanthropies and that was only part of the legacy. That is astounding. It is interesting that he is well known as a philanthropist and yet was viewed as greedy and selfish. He seemed to have had a very clear goal and did what he needed to do to achieve said goal. This was a very informative article.

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07/12/2016

11:59 am

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