John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) — the first American billionaire — became the very embodiment of the self-made, rags-to-riches tycoon.
He was born before the Civil War broke out and the Gilded Age minted American millionaires by the dozen, and lived long enough to see the dazzling Jazz Age and the tragedy of the Great Depression.
JDR started his life’s journey in upstate New York and continued in Ohio. His family consisted of a devout mother, a few siblings, and a very shady father figure — a traveling salesman dealing in “snake-oil”-type products, aka a con artist, peddling questionable “miracle cures” across the country. When his father vanished from the family’s life, young John took on the role of provider, a responsibility that shaped his entire character.
He didn’t study business in school, but he possessed a natural talent. He started from the bottom as a clerk and worked his way up, amassing his first small fortune. His business instinct drew him to buy into oil, and that’s where his story turns from trivial to larger-than-life. Pennsylvania, a newly discovered location for oil, became the heart of a new gold rush — an oil gold rush.
A major issue with the oil industry was the lack of a standardized method for cleaning oil — the oil products lacked consistency. Rockefeller was the one who created oil-refining standards and founded the company “Standard Oil”. His well-refined products became the most valuable on the market.
His initial big success came at a time when the main oil product was kerosene, used in lamps before the electric age. Most refineries discarded the byproducts — gasoline, lubricants, paraffin, tar — as waste. Rockefeller insisted that nothing go unused. Every byproduct found a purpose, turning waste into profit. When the automobile arrived, the once-useless byproduct — gasoline — became the world’s most valuable fuel, securing Rockefeller’s legacy as the architect of the modern petroleum economy.
Rockefeller was a ruthless businessman who destroyed his rivals and formed the first monopoly, for which he was sued and acquitted. Both feared and admired, he was nicknamed “Reck-a-feller”.
At the same time, JDR was deeply religious, the feeling instilled by his mother. His faith deepened after a twist of fate: he once missed a train bound for a meeting with Cornelius Vanderbilt — a train that later crashed, killing all aboard. He saw his survival as proof of God’s plan.
Coming from poverty, he became the first American billionaire. He lived to be 97 but stopped his business affairs at 55. He spent the last 40+ years of his life on philanthropy. He didn’t just give money away; he created an organized philanthropy. With his money, he funded universities and created national parks; he funded education, medicine, science, conservation, and culture.
He had a devoted wife, several daughters, and one son, John D. Rockefeller Jr., a businessman, philanthropist, and founder of the Rockefeller dynasty that shaped New York’s skyline, its economy, and its culture.
John D. Rockefeller personified capitalism in all its contradictions: ruthless and generous, devout and manipulative, visionary and merciless, both destroying anything in his way and standing behind innovation and progress.
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