John D.
Rockefeller
By Oscar Shneker
Who was John D. Rockefeller?
John D. Rockefeller was an American businessman and philanthropist that made his wealth
by selling oil. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company. Rockefeller had a
monopoly over the American oil industry that made him one of the wealthiest people alive.
A monopoly is having exclusive possession or control of the supply of or trade in a
commodity or service. This meant that he had control of 90% of the oil in the United States.
Accounting for inflation, Rockefeller had a net worth of over 400 billion dollars in today's
time.
Early Life
John D. Rockefeller was born July 8, 1839, in Richford, New York. He was raised by his father, William Rockefeller, who
was a traveling businessman/herbalist, and his mother, Eliza Davison, who was very religious and strict. In 1853, the
Rockefeller family moved to Cleveland, Ohio when John was in high school. In 1855, Rockefeller dropped out of high
school and briefly studied bookkeeping at a commercial college and when he was at age 16, he found a job as a
bookkeeper. In 1859, Rockefeller created his own commission business and sold hay, grain, meats, and other goods. Since
oil production started to in the 1860s, Rockefeller built his first oil refinery, near Cleveland, in 1863. In two years it was
one of the largest refineries in the area and he decided to devote himself to the oil industry. In 1864, Rockefeller married
Laura Celestia Spelman and went on to have five children.
Creation of The Standard Oil Company
In 1865, Rockefeller had the biggest refinery in Cleveland and borrowed money to buy out some of his partners and take
full control over it. Over the next few years, Rockefeller acquired new partners and in 1870, he had created the Standard
Oil Company of Ohio. Rockefeller was the president of the group and had the biggest share of the money. Because of the
exponential growth of the company, Standard Oil began to buy out its competitors and in 1872, it controlled most of the
refineries in Cleveland. The expanding company soon started buying refineries in other cities and had more railroad access
and acquired pipelines and terminal facilities. In 1881, they decided to put the stock of Standard Oil in the hand of a board
of nine people with Rockefeller as the president. They then made a trust system that set a pattern of organization for other
monopolies. The Standard Oil Company had a monopoly of the oil business in 1882.
Sherman Antitrust Act
The aggressive competitive practices of the company and Rockefeller’s new wealth attracted the press and growing public
hostility toward monopolies. This eventually caused the U.S. Congress to enact the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890. In
1892, the Ohio Supreme Court declared that the Standard Oil Trust was a monopoly in violation of an Ohio law prohibiting
monopolies. This caused the Standard Oil Company of Ohio to dissolve. To evade this decision, Rockefeller created the
Standard Oil Company of New Jersey and brought the companies back together. Then in 1911, the U.S. Congress declared
a violation of the Antitrust Act and the company was soon dismantled and was broken up into more than 30 individual
companies.
End Of Life
From the 1890’s to the 1900’s John D. Rockefeller helped charities and universities around the United
States. In 1892, he help establish the University of Chicago. In 1897, he decided to become a
philanthropist. He also helped fund the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, now called the
Rockefeller University. On May 23, 1937, Rockefeller died in Ormond Beach, Florida. I believe that the
story of John D. Rockefeller is one to remember. It allows us to see how the government work in the past
and the ways it can show its dominance. This event also shows how the oil business has evolved over the
years and how the richest man in existence made his mark.
Citations
● The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “John D.
Rockefeller.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia
Britannica, Inc., 19 May 2021,
[Link]/biography/John-D-Rockefeller.
● [Link] Editors. “John D. Rockefeller.” [Link],
A&E Television Networks, 9 Apr. 2010,
[Link]/topics/early-20th-century-us/john-d-
rockefeller#section_1.
