John D. Rockefeller a Business Man in the Oil Industry and an Industrialist

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“If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.” These inspiring words highlight the principles that many of the late 1800s industrialists lived by. These industrialists of the late 1800s, known as the “Robber Barons” or “Captains of Industry”, were very influential in America, from their own industry to even the Capitol. One the most influential of them all was John D. Rockefeller. Rockefeller dominated oil industry, which was a budding industry in the 1860s. He founded Standard Oil, which quickly monopolized the entire petroleum industry. Although vilified by many during his time, Rockefeller, along with other “Captains of Industry”, revolutionized the United States, from business to even philanthropy.
Rockefeller was born in New York in 1839. In 1853, he and his family moved to Cleveland where he would attend high school, but more importantly do business. He developed a love of arithmetic and regularly attended his local Baptist Church. After taking some business courses in college, Hewitt and Tuttle hired Rockefeller as a bookkeeper. Shortly after, Rockefeller formed a partnership with another young businessman, Maurice Clark, and together joined the oil industry as refiners. The partnership grew in size and eventually Rockefeller bought out Clark’s portion for $72,000. He then brought his brother, who had also built a refinery, into the partnership. This made their firm the largest oil refinery in the world and marked the beginnings of Standard Oil.
In June 1870, Rockefeller established Standard Oil Company. It was situated in Cleveland, which had become one of the five main refining centers in the U.S. It began to grow rapidly and soon became t...

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...kefeller as unethical and a “Robber Baron”, he was a devout Baptist and was one of first great philanthropists. To begin, every paycheck he received he gave ten percent of it to his church. Along with helping his own personal church, Rockefeller gave much of his wealth to universities and hospitals. He donated money to the University of Chicago, which dramatically improved the school, making it a top-notch college. Along with this, he founded the Central Philippine University and Rockefeller University and research centers such as the Rockefeller Foundation.
From bookkeeper to billionaire, Rockefeller’s vision influenced many. He revolutionized industry and philanthropy as it is today and became the world’ first billionaire. Although vilified for most of his life, he truly redeemed himself in the end by creating many beneficial institutions with his fortune.

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