Rockefeller Company. How to get rich - learning from the life of John D. Rockefeller

John Davison Rockefeller(English John Davison Rockefeller; July 8, 1839, Richford, New York - May 23, 1937, Ormond Beach, Florida) - American businessman, philanthropist, the first official dollar billionaire in the history of mankind.

He founded the Standard Oil Company in 1870 and ran it until his official retirement in 1897. Standard Oil was founded in Ohio as a partnership of John Rockefeller, his brother William Rockefeller, Henry Flager, Jabez Bostwick, chemist Samuel Andrews, and one non-voting partner, Stephen Harkens. As the demand for kerosene and gasoline skyrocketed, the Rockefellers' wealth also increased, and he became the richest man in the world at the time, his net worth at the time of his death was US$1.4 billion (1937 nominal) or 1.54% of GDP. USA. Adjusted for inflation, The New York Times estimates his wealth at around $305 billion in 2006 equivalent.

Rockefeller was one of the US philanthropists, the founder of the Rockefeller Foundation, who donated large sums for medical research, education, in particular, for the fight against yellow fever. He also founded Chicago and Rockefeller University. He was a believing Baptist and donated part of his income to support church institutions throughout his life. He was noted as a hardworking, purposeful and devout Christian, for which his partners called him "Deacon". He always preached healthy lifestyle life and a complete rejection of alcohol and tobacco. Had four daughters and one son, who inherited the management of the Rockefeller Foundation.

early years

Rockefeller was the second of six children in a Protestant family, William Avery Rockefeller (October 13, 1810 - May 11, 1906) and Louise Celanto (September 12, 1813 - March 28, 1889). He was born in Richford, New York. His father was first a lumberjack, and then an itinerant merchant who called himself a "botanical doctor" and sold various elixirs and was rarely at home. According to the recollections of the neighbors, John's father was considered a strange person who tried to evade hard physical labor, although he had a good sense of humor. William was a risk-taker by nature, which helped him build up what little capital he had to buy land for $3,100. However, the propensity for risk was side by side with foresight, so part of the capital was invested in various enterprises. Louise, John's mother, kept the household, was a very devout Baptist, and was often in poverty, because her husband was away for a long time and she constantly had to save on everything. She tried not to pay attention to reports of oddities and adultery of her husband.

Rockefeller recalled that his father early years told him about the enterprises in which he participated, explained the principles of doing business, he wrote about his father: “He often bargained with me and bought various services from me. He taught me how to buy and sell. My father just “trained” me to get rich!”

When John was seven years old, he began to raise turkeys for sale, worked part-time digging potatoes for neighbors. He recorded all the results of commercial activities in his little book.

From my first wages Rockefeller acquires a solid ledger. In it, he writes down all his income and expenses, paying attention even to the little things. He treated this book with special awe and respect, keeping it for life. As well as the memory of your first working day, as an understanding of your first step on the path of becoming.

He invested all the money he earned in a porcelain piggy bank, and already at the age of 13 he lent a farmer friend $ 50 at the rate of 7.5% per annum. His father's upbringing was continued by his mother, from whom he learned hard work and discipline. Since the family was large, and the enterprises of William Rockefeller did not always end well, she often had to save money.

At 13, John went to school in Richford. In his autobiography, he wrote that it was difficult for him to study and he had to study hard to complete the lessons. Rockefeller successfully graduated from high school and entered Cleveland College, where they taught accounting and the basics of commerce, but soon came to the conclusion that a three-month accounting course and a thirst for activity would bring much more than college years, so he left him.

Career

In 1853, the Rockefeller family moved to Cleveland. Since John Rockefeller was one of the oldest children in the family, at the age of 16 he went to look for work. By that time, he was already quite good at mathematics and had completed a three-month accounting course in Cleveland. After six weeks of searching, he was hired as an assistant accountant for a small real estate and shipping company, Hewitt & Tuttle, and soon rose to the position of accountant. He was quickly able to establish himself as a competent professional, and as soon as the manager of Hewitt & Tuttle left his post, Rockefeller was immediately appointed in his place. At the same time, the salary was set at $ 600, while his predecessor received $ 2,000, because of this, Rockefeller left the company, and this was his only hired job in his biography.

Just at this time, the English entrepreneur John Morris Clark was looking for a partner with a capital of $ 2,000 to create a joint business. At that time, Rockefeller had accumulated $ 800, he borrows the missing amount from his father at 10% per annum, and on April 27, 1857, he becomes a junior partner of the Clark and Rochester company, the company traded in hay, grain, meat and other goods. During these years, the southern states announced their withdrawal from the Union and a civil war broke out, the federal authorities needed to supply a large army, and to fulfill large-scale orders for food supplies start-up capital$4,000 was not enough, the company needed a loan. Despite the fact that the company was young, Rockefeller managed to make a positive impression on the director of the bank with his sincerity, and he agreed to provide the company with a loan.

In 1864, Rockefeller married teacher Laura Celestine Spelman, whom he met while still a student. Being pious, she also possessed a practical mindset. Rockefeller noted: “Without her advice, I would have remained poor.”.

In the late 1850s and early 1860s, kerosene lamps became widespread and the demand for oil, the raw material for kerosene, increased. At this time, Rockefeller met the chemist Samuel Andrews, who was involved in oil refining and was convinced of the promise of kerosene as a means of lighting. Rockefeller, on the other hand, was interested in a message about an oil field discovered by Edwin Drake in 1859. Common interests rallied Andrews and Rockefeller, and they, on an equal footing with Clark's company, founded new company oil processing company Andrews and Clark. The partners founded the Flats refinery in Cleveland. Transported oil and finished products by rail.

The Standard Oil Company was founded in 1870. Rockefeller took up the search for oil; already at the beginning of his career, he noticed that the entire oil business was organized inefficiently and chaotically, and focused on putting things in order. The first step was to create a company charter. In order to motivate employees, Rockefeller at first decided to give up wages, rewarding them with shares, he believed that thanks to this they would work more actively, because they would consider themselves part of the company, since their final income would depend on the success of the business.

The business began to generate income, and Rockefeller began to gradually buy up other oil firms, small enterprises that were not too expensive. This strategy did not sit well with many Americans. Rockefeller negotiated with railroad companies to regulate transportation prices, so Standard Oil received lower prices than its competitors: it paid 10 cents for transporting a barrel of oil, while competitors paid 35 cents, and from a difference of 25 cents from each barrel, the Rockefeller company also received income. Competitors could not resist him, Rockefeller put them before a choice: to unite with him or ruin. Most of them chose to become part of Standard Oil in exchange for a share of the shares.

Already by 1880, thanks to numerous small and medium-sized mergers, 95% of America's oil production was in the hands of Rockefeller. After becoming a monopoly, Standard Oil raised prices and became largest company in the world of that time. Ten years later, the Sherman Anti-Monopoly Act required Standard Oil to be split up. After that, Rockefeller split the business into 34 small companies and in all of them he retained a controlling stake and at the same time increased capital. Almost all major American oil companies originated from Standard Oil, including ExxonMobil, Chevron.

Standard Oil brought Rockefeller $ 3 million annually, he owned sixteen railroad and six steel companies, nine real estate firms, six shipping companies, nine banks and three orange groves.

Rockefeller's name became a symbol of wealth: he lived in great comfort, but did not flaunt his wealth like other millionaires from New York's 5th Avenue. He owned a villa and 700 acres (283 ha) of land on the outskirts of Cleveland, as well as homes in New York, Florida, and a personal golf course in New Jersey. But most of all he loved the villa "Pocantico Hills" near New York.

Rockefeller wanted to live to be a hundred years old, but did not live three years On May 23, 1937, he died of a heart attack at the age of 97.

Charity

He considered himself a Christian businessman, from childhood he transferred 10% of his income to the Baptist Church. In 1905, this share was $100 million.

Starting in 1897, Rockefeller gradually transferred the management of Standard Oil to partners, and he himself was increasingly involved in charity work. He founded the University of Chicago in 1892, the Rockefeller Medical Institute (later Rockefeller University) in 1901, the General Educational Council a year later, and the Rockefeller Foundation in 1913.

At the end of his life, Rockefeller gave away up to half a billion dollars, and yet his The only son John Rockefeller Jr. inherited $460 million. He also spent about half a billion on charity, and in addition gave money to build the Rockefeller Center for the communications industry in New York and donated $9 million to build the UN building (it was thanks to his help that the headquarters - the UN apartment was built in New York, and not in any other city in the world). With all this, he left $ 240 million to six children. Rockefeller Jr. also built the famous Empire State Building skyscraper. Being pious man, Rockefeller donated part of his fortune to the church, especially to the needs of the Northern Baptist community, of which he was a member.

The Rockefeller Plateau, discovered in 1934 in the western part of Mary Byrd Land (West Antarctica), was named after Rockefeller, who financed the American expedition under the command of Richard Baird.

The asteroid 904 Rockefellia, discovered in 1918, is also named after Rockefeller.

As of the 2000s, John Rockefeller is considered the richest man in history, Forbes magazine estimated his fortune in terms of the equivalent of 2007 at $ 318 billion, while the largest fortune of that time - Bill Gates - amounted to about $ 50 billion .

A family

The five grandsons of John Rockefeller Sr. continued the tradition of philanthropy and involvement in politics. The most famous of them was Nelson Rockefeller, Vice President of the United States from 1974-1977. Younger son John Rockefeller Jr., David Rockefeller, was the head of the Manhattan Bank from 1969-1980.

Wife Laura could compete with John in his stinginess and stinginess, in coldness and prudence. Modern scholars all say that Spelman was such a perfect fit for Rockefeller that it was amazing. They were able to live like water for more than sixty years.

Literature

John Rockefeller. Memoirs = Random Reminiscences of Men and Events. - M.: Alpina Publisher, 2014. - 216 p. - (Repr. ed.).

For financiers, Rockefeller's biography is a role model, because he was the richest man of the 20th century. Having gone from bookkeeper to corporation owner, Rockefeller made a fortune with a lot of zeros. At the same time, John was an example not only in financial prosperity, but also in charity.

Birth

Rockefeller's biography begins in 1839, when he was born in the city of Richford. William, the father of the future millionaire, worked in various fields: lending money, trading in timber, etc. Thanks to his risk appetite, he managed to put together a small capital ($ 3,100), part of which went to buy land plot. William prudently invested the other part in several enterprises. He told little John about his investments, explaining the specifics of doing business.

First earnings

John Rockefeller, whose biography will be discussed in this article, earned his first money at the age of 7. He fed turkeys for sale and dug potatoes from his neighbors. John recorded all his income in a small notebook. Having accumulated $50 by the age of 13, the future oil tycoon lent them to a farmer at 8% per annum. At the age of 16, after completing accounting courses, he went in search of work. Six weeks of searching were unsuccessful. Finally, John got a job at Hewitt and Tuttle as an assistant accountant. Working 16 hours a day, Rockefeller quickly established himself as a professional, and soon he was offered a vacant managerial position. True, they began to pay three times less than his predecessor. John retired... It was the first and last time he was employed.

Own company

Further, Rockefeller's biography leads us to 1857, when the future oil tycoon opened a joint business with Maurice Clark. The partners were lucky: a civil war broke out with the southern states. The US government needed tons of biscuits, tobacco, sugar and meat, as well as hundreds of thousands of rifles, uniforms and millions of rounds of ammunition. To fulfill these orders, the start-up capital was not enough, and John decided to take out a loan. The probability of refusal was high, but Rockefeller went to the director of the bank and frankly told everything. Sincerity young man impressed the banker, and the loan was approved.

Standard Oil

History of John Rockefeller oil tycoon started in 1865. At that time, everything was covered, and kerosene itself was obtained from oil. John immediately realized the prospects of this business and engaged in its production, opening the Standard Oil Company. When the business began to generate income, Rockefeller began buying up other oil companies. By 1880, thanks to numerous mergers, Standard Oil owned 95% of the oil production market. Didn't even make a difference. The millionaire simply split Standard Oil into 34 small firms, each of which was controlled by him.

Charity

Rockefeller's biography is filled not only with financial victories. He is the largest philanthropist in American history. At the beginning of the 20th century, John handed over the management of the business to reliable partners, while he himself was engaged only in charity work. In 1905 he donated $100 million to the church, and by the end of his life he gave away more than half a billion.

John Rockefeller - this name is known to every adult inhabitant of the earth. With no start-up capital other than his own hard work and perseverance, Rockefeller managed to put together the richest business empire in the world. During life and after death, a lot of rumors, gossip and various judgments circulated around this person. Enough time has passed to take a sober look at the history of the man who created himself and transformed our world.

Saint-Ecupery once said that we all come from childhood. Following this rule, consider the unique that John represents this personality began quite ordinary. Our hero was born in 1839 in Richford, New York. Hard worker family and father reveled. Accustomed to work since childhood, John regarded wealth as a blessing from God. Possessing good heart, little John still managed to develop sobriety of thinking and a certain isolation. A focused lifestyle set him apart from his peers. It seemed that he was constantly solving some super-task. Every Sunday, the Rockefeller family, excluding his father, attended church, and the boy found sincere pleasure in this. The pious mother passed on to her son the whole ethics of Protestantism, which required perseverance, work and virtue. The father, possessing an adventurous temperament, did not care at all about his wife and children, although in moments of enlightenment he told his son about successful transactions and ways of doing business. And yet, at a certain point, he simply ran away, leaving his family to their own devices. Therefore, tenderly caring for his mother until the end of her days, John Davison Rockefeller did not even go to his father's funeral.

At the age of 16, having left the farm, the young man began looking for work in Cleveland. After 6 weeks, his efforts were crowned with success, he received the long-awaited position of assistant accountant. All the energy and zeal went to work, with great difficulty he restrained himself from accounting calculations on Sundays when he attended church. Life in hard work and complete asceticism gave its first results. A promotion began, but John D. Rockefeller quickly realized that this way he could not earn the coveted $ 100,000. With little capital, he started his personal entrepreneurial activity selling food products.

On speculation during the Civil War, he managed to make his first serious capital. Yet the real wealth came with oil when the Standard Oil Company was founded in 1865. Winning the competition, he bought up the firms of his opponents until he became a monopolist in this area. Since then, the foundation has been laid great empire Rockefellers.

It often happens that a successful businessman is not happy in family life. John Rockefeller refuted this rule with his example. Having married for love, he found in the person of Laura Spelman not only a wonderful mother for his children, but also a comrade-in-arms, a like-minded person, whose support he valued above all else. Throughout his life, he went hand in hand with her, completely sharing the views and methods of education. Being richest family in America, they did not spend money on frilly outfits, they repaired old dresses with their own hands, strictly controlled expenses. Children from childhood were accustomed to work, to the fact that rewards must be earned. Market relations were transferred to the family. For certain right action and duties were given money, bad deeds were marked with fines. By the severity of his upbringing, John Rockefeller paid tribute to the need to grow a worthy replacement for his business.

With diabolical tenacity in business, Rockefeller understood the responsibility placed by God on the steward of such wealth. Therefore, charity work has become an integral part of his life. Sometimes he spent sums on gifts for other people's children that far exceeded the maintenance of his own offspring. And yet, both during his lifetime and after his death, he was accompanied by criticism regarding his money-grubbing. After all, in order to build universities and hospitals, it was necessary to profit at the expense of the whole nation.

The puritanical lifestyle and determination helped John Rockefeller to accomplish almost all the tasks that he set for himself. The last of these was to live a hundred years. It was not possible to fulfill it, it was not enough for a little over two years.

John Davison Rockefeller Sr.: biography

John Davison Rockefeller, photo

John Rockefeller is the richest and most successful man in the history of mankind.

His fortune was 318.3 billion dollars (at the dollar rate for 2007). He was 74 years old when he was at the peak of his wealth, his fortune was 1.53% of the income of the American economy, he was America's first billionaire.

« I never guessed who I would be in this life, but I always knew that I was born for something more.”- so, according to the memoirs of his beloved grandson David, said John Davison Rockefeller.

As a young man, John Davison Rockefeller ( John Davison Rockefeller, abbreviated DDR) said that he had 2 dreams in life: the first to earn $ 100,000, and the second - to live to be 100 years old. He was 2 years and 2 months short of 2 goals, but he made his first dream come true with tremendous success.

John with son

Rockefeller was born into a poor family

Full name - John Davidson Rockefeller Sr. he later had a son with the same name) was born July 8, 1839 in the State of New York, USA, and died in 1937 at the age of ninety-eight (98).

His father, William Avery "Big Bill" Rockefeller was a lazy man who spent most of his time thinking about how to avoid manual labor. John's mother, Louise (Eliza), was a self-employed, very devout Baptist, and was often in poverty as her husband was constantly away for extended periods of time and constantly had to save money on everything. However, thanks to the influence of his mother Louise and the devout Baptist John D., he grew up to be quite a hard-working guy.

Mother was a terribly devout Baptist, so from childhood she inspired John with the idea that you need to work hard and constantly save.
The Rockefellers moved to New World in the 18th century and are gradually moving north to Michigan. Things are piled into a creaking wagon drawn by oxen, Rockefeller's grandfather holds the reins, his wife and children follow, swallowing road dust. They stopped in the city of Richford, New York: John Rockefeller would be born there in 1839.
He became the "Devil" as a child. His dry, skin-covered face, devoid of luster of eyes and thin pale lips greatly frightened those around him. In fact, he was quite sensitive and emotional, he just seemed to hide all his feelings in the farthest pocket of his soul. Few knew what John really was.

In young age

Education

Starting a business and how to get rich

The business was part of John's family upbringing. As a child, he bought a pound of candy, divided it into small piles, and sold them to his sisters at a small markup. And at the age of seven he raised turkeys and sold them to his neighbors. Earned on this $ 50, he lent to a neighbor farmer at 7% per annum.

In 1853, the Rockefeller family moved to Cleveland. Since John Rockefeller was one of the eldest children in the family, at the age of 16 he went to look for work.

John began his career in 1855 at the age of 16 as an accountant in the Cleveland trading firm Gevit & Tettl with a salary of $5 and then $25 a week.

From his first paycheck, Rockefeller acquires a solid ledger. In it, he writes down all his income and expenses, paying attention even to the little things.

He, like Morgan, was of military age when the American Civil War broke out. And both paid off their service in the army for 300 dollars (in the North of the country this was a common practice for those with funds).

Having gained enough experience, in his opinion, and having saved $ 800, in 1858 John left the company to open a partnership called Clark & Rockefeller (Clark & Rockefeller) - a small grocery firm, typical of the era of small business.

In the early 1860s, Rockefeller went out of business and organized a new company, Rockefeller & Andrews, focusing on refining oil and trading in kerosene, and continued to develop.

Then several more firms joined it, and in 1870 they founded the Standard Oil Company, with a capital of $ 1 million, which, with the help of successful business decisions and some predatory and illegal actions, became a giant monopoly.

In its heyday, Standard Oil had about 90% of the refined oil (kerosene) market in the United States (in the beginning, Standard Oil's products were not particularly interesting oil industry, the gasoline produced by those refineries was flooded into the rivers because it was considered useless).

In 1910, 55 years after Rockefeller made his first $5, he became the world's first dollar billionaire. “Through perseverance, anything - whether right or wrong, good or bad - will be achieved,” Rockefeller said.

In 1911, the Supreme Court declared Standard Oil a monopoly under the Sherman Antitrust Act, and the Standard Oil Company was split up.

The corporation broke up into 30 small companies with different boards and directors, in which John Rockefeller retained controlling stakes. By this time, John Rockefeller had long since stepped down from the board of the company, but still had a huge percentage of the shares. Every year he received at least $ 3 million from this business.

Oil prices are the secret of success

Since crude oil is virtually useless without distillation, hundreds of refineries sprang up on the other end of the pipeline (and this is true. Under Henry Ford, there were 240 automobile companies, of which only three remained - Ford, Chrysler and General Motors).

In Cleveland, Rockefeller's Standard Oil was just one of 26 refineries battling to survive in a very shaky single-supplier market.

In the 60s of the 19th century, the price of crude oil ranged from $13 per barrel to 10 cents. In fact, Rockefeller was not the first to appreciate the economic potential of the new industry, since the resulting kerosene could heat homes and light the streets of America's rapidly growing cities.

The cheaper it was for a ferryman to deliver oil from the field to the refinery and from the refinery to the market and consumer, the greater the margin he could play with.

Rockefeller successfully did both.

In early 1872, entering into an alliance called the South Improvement Company, Rockefeller entered into a pact with three railroad companies (Pennsylvania, New York Central and Erie): they received the lion's share of all oil transportation.

In exchange, Standard Oil was given preferential rail fares while its competitors in the refinery business were crushed with punitive prices. In addition to huge price advantages, Rockefeller received detailed information about competitors' shipments from the union of shippers and carriers (South Improvement Company), which greatly helped in undermining their prices.

Time to work is the secret to success

Rockefeller knows that the Lord blesses the righteous, and turns his life into a constant feat - he comes to work at 6.30 in the morning, and leaves so late that he has to promise himself to finish his accounting no later than ten in the evening.

John's favorite game

Daily practice of your favorite game - golf - provided the necessary stay on fresh air and the sun. He did not forget about indoor games, reading and other beneficial activities.

A successful marriage is the secret to success

This fully applies to Rockefeller's wife. Before marrying a young promising businessman, Laura Celestina Spelman, who can hardly be called a beauty, was school teacher and was exceptionally pious. They met during the short student days of Rockefeller, but got married only after 9 years. The girl attracted John's attention with her piety, practicality of mind and the fact that he reminded him of his mother. According to Rockefeller himself, without the advice of Laura, he would have "remained a poor man."

The state of the Rockefeller clan at the end of the 19th century

In addition to the oil business, which brought in $ 3 million annually, the businessman owned 16 railway and 6 steel companies, 9 real estate firms, 6 shipping companies, 9 banks and 3 orange groves.

« I believe that the destiny of any person on earth is to honestly take everything that you can, and just as honestly give everything that you can.”- this is how John formulated his life credo.

At 16, Rockefeller began working as an accountant and philanthropist.

Rockefeller has always been a philanthropist, he gave 10% of his income from his very first salary to charity. As his wealth grew, so did his contributions to charity.

« Grandfather was not interested in acquiring Scottish or French castles, he was disgusted by the thought of buying art or yachts', says David Rockefeller.

In 1908, John wrote and published a book called "Memoirs" where Rockefeller's 12 Golden Rules were formed.

When John Davison started, his fortune was in the thousands of dollars, and all the money went into business. Now that he had hundreds of millions, it was time for godly charity.

Fifty thousand letters came to Rockefeller a month asking for help - as far as possible, he answered them and sent people checks.

He helped found the University of Chicago with a $35 million donation, established scholarships, paid pensions - all paid for by the consumer, who was forced by Rockefeller to shell out as much for Standard Oil for kerosene and gasoline.
In 1901, he founded the New York Institute for Medical Research (since 1965 - Rockefeller University), in 1903 - the Council for General Education, in 1913 - the Rockefeller Foundation, in 1918 - the Laura Spelman Foundation (in honor of his wife - helping children and social sciences).
His total philanthropic donations totaled over $700 million.
Half of America dreamed of extorting more money from John Davison Rockefeller. The other half was ready to lynch him. Rockefeller is getting old. Passions, seething around, acted on his nerve.

In all the places where the aged Rockefeller appeared, he distributed handfuls of five- and ten-cent coins from his pockets to everyone around him. And I always took a supply of them with me.

John gave birth to four daughters and one son - John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. (born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1874, died May 11, 1960 during winter holiday in Arizona), who continued the work of his father ( the youngest had six children, and his five sons, representing the third generation of the Rockefeller dynasty, also became famous in business, finance and philanthropy).

John Sr. died in 1937 at the age of 98, he was worth $1.4 billion (1937 nominal) or 1.54% of the US GDP, but gave away half of his accumulated wealth before his death, founding a philanthropic organization that continues to give money for charity, to this day.

John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (John Rockefeller), biography 1839 - 1937

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John Rockefeller is the richest and successful person in the history of mankind. His fortune was 318.3 billion dollars (at the dollar rate for 2007). He was 74 years old when he was at the peak of his wealth, his fortune was 1.53% of the income of the American economy, he was America's first billionaire. “I never knew who I would be in this life, but ...

The future millionaire was born in July 1839, in Richford, New York. In addition to John, the family had five more children. The father of the family, in pursuit of earnings, did not shy away from dubious activities, such as selling medicinal drugs of unknown origin, disappearing from home for several months in a row. The care of children and the home fell entirely on the shoulders of the mother, a zealous Protestant, Eliza Davison. Never having full confidence in the return of the unlucky husband to the family hearth, Eliza led the household diligently and economically, accustoming her children to work and frugality. One fine day, John's father disappeared from the life of the family completely, marrying a young girl and becoming a bigamist. However, by that time, 16-year-old John was already able to take care of himself.

Carier start

After graduation, Rockefeller attended a 10-week business course at a business college where he studied accounting. This education of the future millionaire was limited.

16-year-old John D. Rockefeller began his career as a clerk in Cleveland, in a fabric store, with a salary of $5 a week.

In 1859, at the age of 19, together with a young Englishman, Maurice Clark, he co-founded his first company. In the first year they earned 450 thousand. dollars - Clark was engaged in the supply of groceries, grain, hay and looked for markets, while Rockefeller controlled office management, accounting and relationships with banks.

Rockefeller demonstrated his organizational genius from the very beginning. The company prospered during civil war between 1861-65 between North and South. Both partners were of military age and both paid off their military service. But on deliveries for the needs of the military, the company managed to earn a tidy sum.

Standard Oil Company

Acquaintance with Samuel Andrews, who had knowledge in the field of crude oil refining, gave the thoughts of the future multimillionaire a new direction. Andrews was convinced that the future lay in kerosene, and he managed to infect Rockefeller with his conviction. Five years later, while still a grocery partner, Rockefeller invests several thousand dollars in one of the booming oil refineries in Cleveland. The firm "Andrews and Clark" was founded, in which two years later Rockefeller became a senior partner, simultaneously buying out Clark's share. The enterprise becomes the largest oil refinery in Cleveland.

Thanks to the financial help of new partners Harkness and Flager (who also provided lucrative discounts on rail transportation), the firm outperformed most of its competitors in the oil industry. The ordinary company, founded in Ohio in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller, his brother William, Harkness, Flager and Andrews, was called the Standard Oil Company, had a capital of 1 million. dollars, and a year later already provided 40% of the profit. The company soon controlled a tenth of all U.S. oil refining.

However, Rockefeller dreamed of a monopoly. He bought out most of the processing plants in Cleveland, as well as New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh. He introduced the latest methods of transportation, including railroad tank cars and pipelines. By 1879, the company was processing 90% of American oil using its own fleet of vehicles, ships, docking facilities, packaging plants and warehouses. In the 1880s, the company began to invest in the exploration and production of crude oil in the US, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Starting in 1885, a system of specialized committees was introduced to manage the huge empire of Standard Oil, each of which oversaw its own segment: the production committee managed production, the purchasing committee handled purchases, and so on. In our time, structuring a business is an axiom, but in the time of Rockefeller, such an administrative apparatus was something unheard of and revolutionary.

The so-called "mudrakers" - journalists exposing corruption - Henry Demarest Lloyd and Ida Tarbell collected a lot of facts about Standard Oil's illegal and dubious deals. Rockefeller was criticized for railroad discounts, price fixing, bribery, takeover of small firms through unfair competition.

In 1911, after many years litigation Supreme Court The United States issued a decision declaring Standard Oil a monopoly subject to fragmentation. The company was broken up into 34 smaller ones, with Rockefeller retaining control of each of them. If before the court decision was made, the millionaire's fortune was estimated at 300 million dollars, then two years later he "cost" already 900 million. - the lost antitrust process became a new impetus for his career. More and more cars appeared on the streets of cities, which required everything more oil, which means that more and more money flowed into Rockefeller's pockets.

Family life and personal qualities

From childhood, a God-fearing and strict mother instilled in her son hard work and strong religious principles. John D. Rockefeller categorically did not drink alcohol, demanded the same from his employees and attended church regularly. As a follower of the Baptist Church, he transferred to her all his life 1/10 of the income, following the rule of church tithing. In some years, this share amounted to tens of millions of dollars.

In 1864 he married Laura Celestia Spelman. The young people were surprisingly suited to each other - Mrs. Rockefeller was a pious Puritan who despises social entertainment and adores church services. Five children were born in the marriage - the future heir to the empire, John Davison Rockefeller Jr. and his three sisters - Bessie, Edith and Laura. The family lost another daughter in infancy.

Experiencing a mystical craving for making money, in Everyday life Rockefeller had no bad habits or inclinations. Having accumulated an incredible fortune, he was not going to give up his way of life. Rockefeller taught children to work and frugality, as his mother once did.

At the same time, huge sums were donated to charity. With Rockefeller's money, the University of Chicago, the Medical University named after him, was founded in the USA, and a charitable foundation was created, which operates to this day. According to some estimates, John D. Rockefeller gave more than half a billion dollars to charity - the billionaire spent on good deeds from his point of view as easily as he earned.