Rockefeller is the most famous American entrepreneur, oil magnate, philanthropist and philanthropist. The name of this man went down in American history as a synonym for enormous wealth and is a household name. He is known for being the first to reach over one billion dollars. Rockefeller owned two percent of the US economy. To this day, he is considered the richest man in modern history.
early years
John Davison Rockefeller was born on May 23, 1937, in Richford, New York, to a Protestant family. John was the second child in the family, his parents had six children. His father, William Avery Rockefeller, was known as a strange man. At first he worked as a lumberjack, and then began to wander and sell healing potions and elixirs. He avoided manual labor and was rarely at home.
John Rockefeller's mother, Eliza Davison, was a housewife and a Christian Baptist. She treated with meekness and patience the constant lack of money and the absence of a husband. Eliza taught her children to be religious, industrious and thrifty.
Despite the windy nature, John's father, William, saved up a small amount of money and bought the land for $ 3,100. Taking risks, he also invested in not always successful ventures. John, recalling his father, said that it was he who taught him about trading and understanding how money works. Also, the future billionaire, seeing the drunkenness and betrayal of his father, concluded that alcohol, tobacco and a riotous life is a vice. As a boy, he decided that he would not lead such a life.
At the age of seven, John already began to earn money, digging up potatoes for neighbors and raising turkeys for sale. He wrote down all the income from his work in a small book. On his first payday, the little businessman bought himself a large ledger. There he began to record his income and expenses, without losing sight of anything. He kept this ledger for life as a memory of his first commercial achievements.
After graduating from high school, the young man enters Cleveland College of Commerce, where he studies the basics of commerce and accounting. But soon the future businessman leaves college, considering studying there a waste of time. He decides to study the basics of business in a three-month accounting course.
Carier start
On his first and last job for hire, Rockefeller got a job very early - at the age of 16. He was hired as an assistant accountant at a shipping and real estate company with a salary of $ 17. For good work and diligence, John was soon promoted to an accountant with a salary of $ 25 a month. And after some time, the director of the company resigned from his post and John was appointed manager of this company with a salary of $ 600. But the young man was not satisfied with such a small reward. The previous director was paid $ 2,000, so he decided he was worth more and quit. In 1857, Rockefeller learned that an entrepreneur from England was looking for a business partner with a capital of $ 2,000. Rockefeller only had $ 800 saved up. He asked for a loan of the missing amount from his own father at 10% per annum. This is how John Rockefeller became a junior partner at Clark & Rochester, an agricultural trading company.
Oil business
In the second half of the 19th century, kerosene lamps became very popular in the United States. This greatly increased the demand for the raw material for their production - oil. At this time, a fateful meeting for Rockefeller with chemist Samuel Andrews took place. He was a specialist in the processing of crude oil. John Rockefeller, with his sense of a businessman, immediately felt the huge prospects of the oil market. Rockefeller persuaded his business partner, Clark, to combine his capital with the capital of Samuel Andrews. This is how the Andrews & Clark refinery was created.
In 1870, John Rockefeller founded his own oil company, Standard Oil, which later made him the richest man in the world. Rockefeller's business went uphill due to his organization, enterprise and ability to negotiate with the "right" people. He has always sought lower prices for the supply of raw materials and freight. An interesting fact was that John, at the stage of the formation of his business, did not pay wages to his employees. He motivated them with shares of the company, believing that this way they would perform better as a part of the enterprise. Then Rockefeller began to buy up smaller oil companies and soon became a monopoly.
Thus, by 1880, Rockefeller owned 95% of all oil production in America. Standard Oil raised oil prices and became the largest company in the world at that time.
Charity
John Rockefeller was very religious. Since childhood, he has been a member of the Baptist Church. Starting to receive his first income, he donated ten percent to the needs of the church. The oil tycoon has never changed this habit. Throughout his life, Rockefeller transferred more than $ 100 million. In addition, the tycoon donated about $ 80 million to the University of Chicago. In 1901, Rockefeller founded and then sponsored the Institute for Medical Research in New York. Within its walls, the reasons, methods of treatment and prevention of various diseases were found out. He also sponsored many American colleges and schools, which received $ 325 million in money. Then the Rockefeller Foundation was founded, and its founder was considered the most generous philanthropist in American history.
condition
At the time, Rockefeller was making $ 3 million in annual net income from his oil company Standard Oil. In addition, he owned: 16 railway companies, 9 real estate companies, 6 steel mills, 6 steamers, 9 banks and three orange orchards.
Personal life
On September 8, 1864, John Rockefeller married the teacher Laura Celestia Spelman, whom he had known since high school. The girl was from a wealthy family, very pious and had an analytical mind. The couple had a lot in common: outlook on life, common faith, frugality and prudence. From 1866 to 1874, the couple had 5 children: four daughters - Elizabeth, Alice (died as a child), Alta, Edith; and a son, John Rockefeller Jr. The couple lived together for over sixty years. John Rockefeller outlived his wife a lot and died at the age of 98.
