[citation needed], Rockefeller created the Rockefeller Foundation in 1913[119] to continue and expand the scope of the work of the Sanitary Commission,[114] which was closed in 1915. He believed that measure to be prohibition, as he and his father donated 350,000 to "all branches of the Anti-Saloon League, Federal and State." They include politicians and writers, some of whom served Rockefeller's interests, and some of whom built their careers by fighting Rockefeller and the "robber barons". She also put up with his philandering and his double life, which included bigamy. Standard Oil adapted by developing a European presence, expanding into natural gas production in the U.S., and then producing gasoline for automobiles, which until then had been considered a waste product. [53], On January 10, 1870, Rockefeller abolished the partnership of Rockefeller, Andrews & Flagler,[54] forming Standard Oil of Ohio. The commercial oil business was then in its infancy. Rockefeller liked the Ormond Beach area so much that after four seasons at the hotel, he bought an estate in Ormond Beach called The Casements. Rather than try to influence the price of crude oil directly, Standard Oil had been exercising indirect control by altering oil storage charges to suit market conditions. "John D. Rockefeller: Oil Baron and Philanthropist." By 1869 there was triple the kerosene refining capacity than needed to supply the market, and the capacity remained in excess for many years. [a] Oil was used throughout the country as a light source until the introduction of electricity, and as a fuel after the invention of the automobile. The daily management of the trust was turned over to John Dustin Archbold and Rockefeller bought a new estate, Pocantico Hills, north of New York City, turning more time to leisure activities including the new sports of bicycling and golf. The United States Commission on Industrial Relations conducted extensive hearings, singling out John D. Rockefeller Jr. and the Rockefellers' relationship with Bowers for special attention. Full of work and full of play "[101], Rockefeller would support Baptist missionary activity, fund universities, and heavily engage in religious activities at his Cleveland, Ohio, church. WebROCKEFELLER, JOHN D. (8 July 1839-23 May 1937), industrialist and philanthropist, rose from his position as an assistant bookkeeper for a Cleveland commission merchant to become one of the wealthiest men in the U.S. through his efforts in developing the STANDARD OIL CO. Born on a farm near Richford, NY. Rockefeller had entered the raucous oil business during the Civil War, when oil often sold for a dollar a gallon. Rockefeller later commented:[53]. Within two years it was the largest refinery in the area, and thereafter Rockefeller devoted himself exclusively to the oil business. Clark initiated the idea of the partnership and offered $2,000 towards the goal. "[72] Over time, foreign competition and new finds abroad eroded his dominance. Much of Rockefeller's duties involved negotiating with barge canal owners, ship captains, and freight agents. Rockefeller was the eldest son and second of six children born to traveling physician and snake-oil salesman William (Big Bill) Avery Rockefeller and Eliza Davison Rockefeller. "[43] At that time, the Federal government was subsidizing oil prices, driving the price up from $.35 a barrel in 1862 to as high as $13.75. While most refiners dumped oil byproducts into nearby rivers, Rockefeller wisely hired research-and-development men to produce waxes, paving materials, and detergents from the seemingly unmarketable sludge that was discarded. It developed over 300 oil-based products from tar to paint to petroleum jelly to chewing gum. [127], Rockefeller supported the passage of the 18th Amendment, which banned alcohol in the United States. Billionaire John D. Rockefeller (July 8, 1839 to May 23, 1937) continues to rank as one of the richest men in modern times. WebIn 1973 Rockefeller founded the Trilateral Commission, a private international organization designed to confront the challenges posed by globalization and to encourage greater cooperation between the United States and its principal allies (Canada, Japan, and the countries of western Europe). After the war, he donated land for the United Nations headquarters, a gift that figured prominently in the decision to He wrote in a letter to Nicholas Murray Butler on June 6, 1932, that his neither Rockefeller nor his parents or his father's father and mother's mother drank alcohol. Due to reduced demand for coal, resulting from an economic downturn, many of CF&I's coal mines never reopened and many men were thrown out of work. American business magnate and philanthropist (18391937), For other people named John D. Rockefeller, see, Business partnership and Civil War service, Strike of 191314 and the Ludlow Massacre. Born in upstate New York, Rockefeller entered the oil business by investing in a Cleveland, Ohio refinery in 1863. WebIn the 1860s John D. Rockefeller took note of the expansion of oil production in western Pennsylvania and built an oil refinery near Cleveland, Ohio, in 1863. Grandson Laurance Spelman Rockefeller became a conservationist. If we absorb them, it surely will bring up another. Strikebreakers (called "scabs") were threatened and sometimes attacked. Learn about John D. Rockefeller's historic-preservation of early American history at Williamsburg. Instead of using his father's method of presence to collect debts, Rockefeller relied on a persistent pestering approach. [74] Robert Nobel had established his own refining enterprise in the abundant and cheaper Russian oil fields, including the region's first pipeline and the world's first oil tanker. WebJohn D. Rockefeller was the richest man of his time but, used his wealth to improve our country. Due to be drafted to serve the Union in the Civil War in 1863, the 23-year-old Rockefeller did what many men of means had done: He paid for someone to serve in his place. While traveling the South, he would donate large sums of money to churches belonging to the Southern Baptist Convention, various Black churches, as well as other Christian denominations. John D Rockefeller was a businessman who emerged as one of the men with largest fortune in history. On April 20, 1914, a general fire-fight occurred between strikers and troops, which was antagonized by the troops and mine guards. However, he did not intend to eliminate competition entirely. Udo Hielscher: Historische amerikanische Aktien, p. 68 74, Laughlin, Rosemary. "[84] He began a publicity campaign to put his company and himself in a better light. In association with his son, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., he created major philanthropic institutions, including the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (renamed Rockefeller University) in New York City (1901), the General Education Board (1902), and the Rockefeller Foundation (1913). I was early taught to work as well as play, That orderly, economic, efficient flow is what we now, many years later, call 'vertical integration' I do not know whether Mr. Rockefeller ever used the word 'integration'. August 2, 1896 An article documents Rockefellers life and his rise to wealth, from poverty to possessing millions of dollars. Rockefeller entered the fledgling Oil industry in 1863, by investing in a factory in Cleveland, Ohio. This touched off a firestorm of protest from independent oil well owners, including boycotts and vandalism, which led to the discovery of Standard Oil's part in the deal. In less than four months in 1872, in what was later known as "The Cleveland Conquest" or "The Cleveland Massacre," Standard Oil absorbed 22 of its 26 Cleveland competitors. Billionaire John D. Rockefeller (July 8, 1839 to May 23, 1937) continues to rank as one of the richest men in modern times. Standard's most potent weapons against competitors were underselling, differential pricing, and secret transportation rebates. Many people were impacted in a negative way and his business tactics were not always ethical. Rockefeller's operative, Lamont Montgomery Bowers,[93] remained in the background. In 1879, the New York State Legislature's Hepburn Committee investigations into "alleged abuses" committed by the railroads uncovered the fact that Standard Oil was receiving substantial freight rebates on all of the oil it was transporting by railroad and was crushing Standard's competitors thereby. Founded by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (1839-1937), the Standard Oil Company is one of the world's richest corporations. John D. Rockefeller is reported to be the wealthiest man in America with about $150,000,000 and an income of $25,000 per day. [88] He and all of the other stockholders received proportionate shares in each of the 34 companies. The price of the refined oil in 1863 was around $13 a barrel, with a profit margin of around $5 to $8 a barrel. Striking miners were forced to abandon their homes in company towns and lived in tent cities erected by the union, such as the tent city at Ludlow, a railway stop north of Trinidad.[94]. Whale oil had become too expensive for the masses, and a cheaper, general-purpose lighting fuel was needed. And God was good to me everyday. [59] Standard was growing horizontally and vertically. [85], Rockefeller and his son continued to consolidate their oil interests as best they could until New Jersey, in 1909, changed its incorporation laws to effectively allow a re-creation of the trust in the form of a single holding company. Rockefeller gave $80million to the University of Chicago[111] under William Rainey Harper, turning a small Baptist college into a world-class institution by 1900. [133] For many of his competitors, Rockefeller had merely to show them his books so they could see what they were up against and then make them a decent offer. In 1901, he founded the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research[114] in New York City. Rockefeller had entered the raucous oil business during the Civil War, when oil often sold for a dollar a gallon. He was advised primarily by Frederick Taylor Gates[103] after 1891,[104] and, after 1897, also by his son. He wrote and published his memoirs beginning in 1908. WebJohn D. Rockefeller. Continuing to apply his work ethic and efficiency, Rockefeller quickly expanded the company to be the most profitable refiner in Ohio. It acquired pipelines and terminal facilities, purchased competing refineries in other cities, and vigorously sought to expand its markets in the United States and abroad. He borrowed heavily, reinvested profits, adapted rapidly to changing markets, and fielded observers to track the quickly expanding industry. In 1867, Henry Morrison Flagler became a partner, and the firm of Rockefeller, Andrews & Flagler was established. "But it was simply out of the question. He became an assistant bookkeeper at age 16 and went into several business partnerships beginning at age 20, concentrating his business on oil refining. [6][full citation needed] That was his peak net worth, and amounts to US$24.7billion (in 2021 dollars; inflation-adjusted). [citation needed] We correct them as soon as they come to our knowledge. 187072 Updates? Biographer Allan Nevins, answering Rockefeller's enemies, concluded: The rise of the Standard Oil men to great wealth was not from poverty. His business hurt many of his workers and many other small businesses with the monopoly that he created. John Jr.'s youngest son David Rockefeller was a leading New York banker, serving for over 20 years as CEO of Chase Manhattan (now part of JPMorgan Chase). [87], Rockefeller, who had rarely sold shares, held over 25% of Standard's stock at the time of the breakup. August 2, 1896 An article documents Rockefellers life and his rise to wealth, from poverty to possessing millions of dollars. WebJohn D. Rockefeller. I was willing that they should combine and grow as big and wealthy as they could, but only by legitimate means. I would have deplored the necessity which compelled the officers of the company to resort to such measures to supplement the State forces to maintain law and order." Even more critical, the invention of the light bulb gradually began to erode the dominance of kerosene for illumination. His company and business practices came under criticism, particularly in the writings of author Ida Tarbell . [86] The court ruled that the trust originated in illegal monopoly practices and ordered it to be broken up into 34 new companies. [117] He founded the Rockefeller Sanitary Commission in 1909,[114] an organization that eventually eradicated the hookworm disease,[118] which had long plagued rural areas of the American South. He also had a deep love of music and dreamed of it as a possible career. [14][15][16] He was a devout Northern Baptist and supported many church-based institutions. [83] [66], The firm was attacked by journalists and politicians throughout its existence, in part for these monopolistic methods, giving momentum to the antitrust movement. In 1901, U.S. Steel, then controlled by J. Pierpont Morgan, having bought Andrew Carnegie's steel assets, offered to buy Standard's iron interests as well. The union was forced to discontinue strike benefits in February 1915. He came to associate the church with charity. [47], While other refineries would keep the 60% of oil product that became kerosene, but dump the other 40% in rivers and massive sludge piles,[48] Rockefeller used the gasoline to fuel the refinery, and sold the rest as lubricating oil, petroleum jelly and paraffin wax, and other by-products. WebThe Rockefeller family (/ r k f l r /) is an American industrial, political, and banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes.The fortune was made in the American petroleum industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries by brothers John D. Rockefeller and William A. Rockefeller Jr., primarily through Standard Oil (the On this day in 1870, Rockefeller incorporated the company that would make him almost inconceivably rich and, in many ways, begin the modern age of oil. WebHow did John Rockefeller gain his wealth? During the next decade, kerosene became commonly available to the working and middle classes. His company and business practices came under criticism, particularly in the writings of author Ida Tarbell . Before 1870, oil light was only for the wealthy, provided by expensive whale oil. "I never had an animus against their size and wealth, never objected to their corporate form. John D. Rockefeller was an American business magnate and philanthropist. Standard Oils questionable ethics were also taken to task by American journalist Ida Tarbell in her 19-part expos and commentary called The History of the Standard Oil Company, which was released in installments by McClures Magazine between 1902 and 1904. He supported the incorporation of repealing the 18th amendment into the Republican party platform. In 1853, his family moved to Strongsville, Ohio, and he attended Cleveland's Central High School, the first high school in Cleveland and the first free public high school west of the Alleghenies. But they had never played fair, and that ruined their greatness for me." But by 1932, Rockefeller felt disillusioned by prohibition because of its failure to discourage drinking and alcoholism. [129][130] It would be Rockefeller's winter home during the latter part of his life. He also gave a grant to the American Baptist Missionaries foreign mission board, the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society in establishing Central Philippine University, the first Baptist and second American university in Asia, in 1905 in the heavily Catholic Philippines. The Paris Rothschilds jumped into the fray providing financing. He quickly found success as it became the largest refinery in the area, and [86], In 1902, facing cash flow problems, John Cleveland Osgood turned to George Jay Gould, a principal stockholder of the Denver and Rio Grande, for a loan. [5] His personal wealth was estimated in 1913 at $900million, which was almost 3% of the US GDP of $39.1billion that year. Rockefeller's wealth soared as kerosene and gasoline grew in importance, and he became the richest person in the country, controlling 90% of all oil in the United States at his peak. By 1901 he began wearing toupes and by 1902, his mustache disappeared. John D Rockefeller was a businessman who emerged as one of the men with largest fortune in history. WebThe Rockefeller family (/ r k f l r /) is an American industrial, political, and banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes.The fortune was made in the American petroleum industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries by brothers John D. Rockefeller and William A. Rockefeller Jr., primarily through Standard Oil (the WebTwo things about the oil industry, however, bothered Rockefeller right from the start: the appalling waste and the fluctuating prices. [33] He worked long hours and delighted, as he later recalled, in "all the methods and systems of the office. John D. Rockefeller was remembered for his wealth and for the aggressive competitive practices of the Standard Oil Company. A deal brokered by Henry Clay Frick exchanged Standard's iron interests for U.S. Steel stock and gave Rockefeller and his son membership on the company's board of directors. He gave money to the Union cause, as did many rich Northerners who avoided combat. But it is the assertion that the Standard magnates gained their wealth by appropriating "the property of others" that most challenges our attention. For these reasons, Rockefeller and other heads of monopolistic companies were called robber barons by their critics. Omissions? During church service, his mother would urge him to contribute his few pennies to the congregation. Today known as Spelman College, the school is an all women Historically Black College or University in Atlanta, Georgia, named after Laura's family. Rockefeller had a long and controversial career in the oil industry followed by a long career in philanthropy. Public hostility toward monopolies, of which Standard was the best known, caused some countries to enact anti-monopoly laws. John D. had spent a lifetime trying to bury the truth about a relative whose actions threatened the entire empire he had worked so hard to build. [109] Rockefeller also gave considerable donations to Denison University[110] and other Baptist colleges. WebRockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and, through corporate and technological innovations, was instrumental in both widely disseminating and drastically reducing the production cost of oil. The oil fortunes of 1894 were not larger than steel fortunes, banking fortunes, and railroad fortunes made in similar periods. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). In total Rockefeller donated about $530million. By 1882 Standard Oil had a near monopoly on the oil business in the United States. WebBy 1858, Rockefeller had more responsibilities at Hewitt & Tuttle. In the aftermath, Rockefeller's control over the oil industry was somewhat reduced, but over the next 10 years the breakup proved immensely profitable for him. The camp was burned, resulting in 15 women and children, who hid in tents at the camp, being burned to death. As a percentage of the United States' GDP, no other American fortuneincluding those of Bill Gates or Sam Waltonwould even come close. [101] Later in his life, Rockefeller recalled: "It was at this moment, that the financial plan of my life was formed". WebIn 1973 Rockefeller founded the Trilateral Commission, a private international organization designed to confront the challenges posed by globalization and to encourage greater cooperation between the United States and its principal allies (Canada, Japan, and the countries of western Europe). He was an excellent debater and expressed himself precisely. [36], As a youth, Rockefeller reportedly said that his two great ambitions were to make $100,000 (equivalent to $2.91million[37] in 2021 dollars) and to live 100 years. Rockefeller had only $800 saved up at the time and so borrowed $1,000 from his father, "Big Bill" Rockefeller, at 10 percent interest. [42] As he said, "God gave me money", and he did not apologize for it. It endowed Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health,[114] the first of its kind. [71], The company's vast American empire included 20,000 domestic wells, 4,000 miles of pipeline, 5,000 tank cars, and over 100,000 employees. [94] Rockefeller denied any responsibility and minimized the seriousness of the event. Then he took a ten-week business course at Folsom's Commercial College, where he studied bookkeeping. Tarbell's father had been driven out of the oil business during the "South Improvement Company" affair. In 1870 Rockefeller and a few associates, a group that included American financier Henry M. Flagler, incorporated the Standard Oil Company (Ohio). Johann Peter Rockenfeller (baptized September 27, 1682, in the Protestant church of Rengsdorf) immigrated in 1723 from Altwied (today a district of Neuwied, Rhineland-Palatinate) with three children to North America and settled down in Germantown, Pennsylvania. It changed its name to Rockefeller University in 1965, after expanding its mission to include graduate education. [10] His foundations pioneered developments in medical research and were instrumental in the near-eradication of hookworm[11] and yellow fever[12] in the United States. Because of Rockefellers emphasis on economical operations, Standard prospered and began to buy out its competitors until, by 1872, it controlled nearly all the refineries in Cleveland. [140], Rockefeller is largely remembered simply for the raw size of his wealth. [132], In his 50s Rockefeller suffered from moderate depression and digestive troubles; during a stressful period in the 1890s he developed alopecia, the loss of some or all body hair. 186365 Rockefeller builds his first oil refinery, near Cleveland. It added its own pipelines, tank cars, and home delivery network. Under the protection of the National Guard, some miners returned to work and some strikebreakers, imported from the eastern coalfields, joined them as Guard troops protecting their movements. He followed his father's advice to "trade dishes for platters" and always get the better part of any deal. WebRockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and, through corporate and technological innovations, was instrumental in both widely disseminating and drastically reducing the production cost of oil. Rockefeller's charitable giving began with his first job as a clerk at age 16, when he gave six percent of his earnings to charity, as recorded in his personal ledger. [134], Rockefeller died of arteriosclerosis on May 23, 1937, less than two months shy of his 98th birthday,[135] at "The Casements", his home in Ormond Beach, Florida. [76], Standard Oil moved its headquarters to New York City at 26 Broadway, and Rockefeller became a central figure in the city's business community. [28] John did his share of the regular household chores and earned extra money raising turkeys, selling potatoes and candy, and eventually lending small sums of money to neighbors. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and, through corporate and technological innovations, was instrumental in both widely disseminating and drastically reducing the production cost of oil. He made possible the founding of the University of Chicago in 1892, and by the time of his deathfrom a heart attack in 1937, shortly before his 98th birthdayhe had given it some $35 million. His company and business practices came under criticism, particularly in the writings of author Ida Tarbell. Due to be drafted to serve the Union in the Civil War in 1863, the 23-year-old Rockefeller did what many men of means had done: He paid for someone to serve in his place. [69] The "trust" was a corporation of corporations, and the entity's size and wealth drew much attention. [115] In keeping with the historic missions of the Baptists, it was especially active in supporting black schools in the South. In the early 1880s, Rockefeller created one of his most important innovations. Rockefeller finally gave up his dream of controlling all the world's oil refining; he admitted later, "We realized that public sentiment would be against us if we actually refined all the oil. The capital expenditures for a refinery at that time were small around $1,000 to $1,500 and requiring only a few men to operate. [96] When testifying on the Ludlow Massacre, and asked what action he would have taken as Director, John D. Rockefeller Jr. stated, "I would have taken no action. We have abundant evidence that Rockefeller's consistent policy was to offer fair terms to competitors and to buy them out, for cash, stock, or both, at fair appraisals; we have the statement of one impartial historian that Rockefeller was decidedly "more humane toward competitors" than Carnegie; we have the conclusion of another that his wealth was "the least tainted of all the great fortunes of his day."[137]. [44] Likewise, Rockefeller's refineries hired their own plumbers, cutting the cost of pipe-laying in half. "I wanted to go in the army and do my part," Rockefeller said. [7][pageneeded][8][b], Rockefeller spent much of the last 40 years of his life in retirement at Kykuit, his estate in Westchester County, New York, defining the structure of modern philanthropy, along with other key industrialists such as steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. Rockefeller called her "Miss Tarbarrel" in private but held back in public saying only, "not a word about that misguided woman. Biography Reference Center, EBSCO, United States Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics historical inflation calculator, United States Commission on Industrial Relations, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, "John D. Rockefeller: The Richest Man in the World", http://www.usstuckonstupid.com/sos_charts.php#gdp, "Giving It Away, Then and Now The New York Times", Weekly Centralian Link (June 15, 2018) CPU holds Faculty and Staff Conference 2018, "The Philanthropists: John D. Rockefeller Tim Challies", "John D. Rockefeller | Biography, Facts, & Death", "People & Events: John D. Rockefeller Senior, 18391937", "Proceedings of the Special Committee on Railroads, Appointed under a resolution of the Assembly to investigate alleged abuses in the Management of Railroads chartered by the State of New York (Vol. [67] By 1880, according to the New York World, Standard Oil was "the most cruel, impudent, pitiless, and grasping monopoly that ever fastened upon a country". Control was passed from the Iowa Group[91] to Gould and Rockefeller interests in 1903 with Gould in control and Rockefeller and Gates representing a minority interests. The Supreme Court ruled in 1911 that Standard Oil must be dismantled for violation of federal antitrust laws. [23] In between the births of Lucy and John, Bill and his mistress and housekeeper Nancy Brown had a daughter named Clorinda who died young. Nine trustees, including Rockefeller, ran the 41 companies in the trust. It was not meteor-like, but accomplished over a quarter of a century by courageous venturing in a field so risky that most large capitalists avoided it, by arduous labors, and by more sagacious and farsighted planning than had been applied to any other American industry. His General Education Board made a dramatic impact by funding the recommendations of the Flexner Report of 1910. He truly believed in the biblical principle found in Luke 6:38, "Give, and it will be given to you. [81] Amid the frenetic expansion, Rockefeller began to think of retirement. Throughout his life, Bill was notorious for conducting schemes. 186365 Rockefeller builds his first oil refinery, near Cleveland. When the Civil War was nearing a close and with the prospect of those war-time profits ending, Clark & Rockefeller looked toward the refining of crude oil. He admitted that he had made no attempt to bring the militiamen to justice. WebIn the 1860s John D. Rockefeller took note of the expansion of oil production in western Pennsylvania and built an oil refinery near Cleveland, Ohio, in 1863. Rockefeller envisioned pipelines as an alternative transport system for oil and began a campaign to build and acquire them. [92], The strike, called in September 1913 by the United Mine Workers, over the issue of union representation, was against coal mine operators in Huerfano and Las Animas counties of southern Colorado, where the majority of CF&I's coal and coke production was located. In 1877, Standard clashed with Thomas A. Scott, the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Standard's chief hauler. Sensing the commercial potential of the expanding oil production in western Pennsylvania in the early 1860s, he built his first oil refinery, near Cleveland, in 1863. The strike was fought vigorously by the coal mine operators association and its steering committee, which included Welborn, president of CF&I, a spokesman for the coal operators. "[68], At that time, many legislatures had made it difficult to incorporate in one state and operate in another. Rockefeller believed in the Efficiency Movement, arguing that: "To help an inefficient, ill-located, unnecessary school is a waste it is highly probable that enough money has been squandered on unwise educational projects to have built up a national system of higher education adequate to our needs, if the money had been properly directed to that end. In 1902, an audit showed Rockefeller was worth about $200millioncompared to the total national GDP of $24billion then. Rockefeller entered the fledgling Oil industry in 1863, by investing in a factory in Cleveland, Ohio.