John D. Rockefeller

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<div class="dablink">For other persons named John D. Rockefeller, see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller%28disambiguation%29" title="John D. Rockefeller (disambiguation)">John D. Rockefeller (disambiguation)</a>.</div>

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<th class="fn" colspan="2" >John Davison Rockefeller</th>

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John D. Rockefeller in 1885</td>

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<td class="">July 8, 1839(1839-07-08)

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richford,_New_York" title="Richford, New York">Richford, New York</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" title="United States">USA</a></td>

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<td class="">May 23, 1937 (aged 97)

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Casements" title="The Casements">The Casements</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ormond_Beach,_Florida" title="Ormond Beach, Florida">Ormond Beach, Florida</a>, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA" title="USA">USA</a></td>

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<th >Occupation</th>

<td class="role">Chairman of <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oil_Company" title="Standard Oil Company">Standard Oil Company</a>; investor; philanthropist</td>

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<p><b>John Davison Rockefeller</b> (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" title="United States">American</a> industrialist. Rockefeller revolutionized the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_industry" title="Petroleum industry">petroleum industry</a> and defined the structure of modern <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philanthropy" title="Philanthropy">philanthropy</a>. In 1870, he founded the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oil" title="Standard Oil">Standard Oil</a> Company and aggressively ran it until he officially retired in 1897.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-0"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-0">[1]</sup></a> Standard Oil began as an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio" title="Ohio">Ohio</a> partnership formed by John D. Rockefeller, his brother <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Rockefeller" title="William Rockefeller">William Rockefeller</a>, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Flagler" title="Henry Flagler">Henry Flagler</a>, chemist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Andrews" title="Samuel Andrews">Samuel Andrews</a>, and a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_partner" title="Silent partner">silent partner</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_V.Harkness" title="Stephen V. Harkness">Stephen V. Harkness</a>. As kerosene and gasoline grew in importance, Rockefeller's wealth soared, and he became the world's richest man and first American <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billionaire" title="Billionaire">billionaire</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-1"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1">[2]</sup></a> He is often regarded as the richest person in history.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-2"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2">[3]</sup></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-3"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-3">[</sup></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-3"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-3">4]</sup></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-4"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-4">[</sup></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-4"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-4">5]</sup></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-5"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-5">[</sup></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-5"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-5">6]</sup></a>

Standard Oil was convicted in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_courts" title="United States federal courts">Federal Court</a> of monopolistic practices and broken up in 1911. Rockefeller spent the last 40 years of his life in retirement. His fortune was mainly used to create the modern systematic approach of targeted philanthropy with foundations that had a major effect on medicine, education, and scientific research.<sup class="noprint Template-Fact" title="This claim needs references to reliable sources from August 2009" >[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><i>citation needed</i></a>]</sup>

His foundations pioneered the development of medical research, and were instrumental in the eradication of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hookworm" title="Hookworm">hookworm</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_fever" title="Yellow fever">yellow fever</a>. He is also the founder of both <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Chicago" title="University of Chicago">the University of Chicago</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockefeller_University" title="Rockefeller University">Rockefeller University</a>. He was a devoted <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Baptist_Convention" title="Northern Baptist Convention">Northern Baptist</a> and supported many church-based institutions throughout his life. Rockefeller adhered to total abstinence from alcohol and tobacco throughout his life.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_note-6"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6">[7]</sup></a>

He had four daughters and one son; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller,Jr." title="John D. Rockefeller, Jr.">John D. Rockefeller, Jr.</a> "Junior" was largely entrusted with the supervision of the foundations.</p>

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<h2>Contents</h2>

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<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#Early_life_and_business_career">1 Early life and business career</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#Standard_Oil">2 Standard Oil</a>

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<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#Monopoly">2.1 Monopoly</a></li>

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<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#Philanthropy">3 Philanthropy</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#Legacy">4 Legacy</a>

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<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#Poem_about_his_life">4.1 Poem about his life</a></li>

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<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#Bibliography">6 Bibliography</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-9"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#References">7 References</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-10"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#External_links">8 External links</a></li>

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<h2>Early life and business career</h2>

<p>Rockefeller was the second of six children born in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richford,New_York" title="Richford, New York">Richford, New York</a>, to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Avery_Rockefeller" title="William Avery Rockefeller">William Avery Rockefeller</a> (November 13, 1810–May 11, 1906) and Eliza Davison (September 12, 1813–March 28, 1889). Genealogists trace his roots back to French <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huguenots" title="Huguenots">Huguenots</a> who later fled to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany" title="Germany">Germany</a> in the 1600s.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-7"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7">[8]</sup></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-8"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8">[</sup></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-8"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8">9]</sup></a> His father, first a lumberman, then a <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traveling_salesman" title="Traveling salesman">traveling salesman</a>, billed himself as a “botanic physician” and sold dubious elixirs. The locals referred to the mysterious but fun-loving man as "Big Bill," and "Devil Bill".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-9"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9">[10]</sup></a>He was a sworn foe of conventional morality who had opted for a vagabond existence and who returned to his family infrequently. Throughout his life, William Avery Rockefeller expended considerable energy on tricks and schemes and avoided plain hard work.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-10"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10">[11]</sup></a> Eliza, a homemaker and devout Baptist, struggled to maintain a semblance of stability at home as William was frequently gone for extended periods. She also put up with his philandering and his double life, which included bigamy. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-11"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11">[12]</sup></a> Thrifty by nature and by necessity, she taught her son that "willful waste makes woeful want".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-12"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-12">[13]</sup></a> Young Rockefeller did his share of the regular household chores, and earned extra money raising turkeys, selling potatoes and candy, and eventually loaning small sums of money to neighbors. He followed his father’s advice to "trade dishes for platters" and thereby always get the better part of any deal. Big Bill once bragged, "I cheat my boys every chance I get. I want to make ‘em sharp."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_note-13"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13">[14]</sup></a>

In spite of his father’s absences and frequent moving, Young Rockefeller was a well-behaved, serious and studious boy. His contemporaries described him as reserved, earnest, religious, methodical, and discreet. He was an excellent debater, and expressed himself precisely. He also had a deep love of music, and even dreamed of it as a possible career.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_note-14"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-14">[15]</sup></a> Early on, he displayed an excellent mind for numbers and detailed accounting.

When he was a boy, his family moved to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moravia,New_York" title="Moravia, New York">Moravia, New York</a> and, in 1851, to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owego" title="Owego">Owego</a>, New York, where he attended Owego Academy. In 1853, his family bought a house in <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strongsville" title="Strongsville">Strongsville</a>, a suburb of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland" title="Cleveland">Cleveland</a>. In September 1855, when Rockefeller was sixteen he got his first job as an assistant <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookkeeper" title="Bookkeeper">bookkeeper</a>, working for a small produce commission firm called "Hewitt & Tuttle". Though he worked long and hard hours, he delighted, as he later recalled, in “all the methods and systems of the office”. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-15"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-15">[16]</sup></a> He was particularly adept at calculating transportation costs, which served him well later in his career. The full salary for his first three months' work was $50 (50 cents a day).<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-16"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-16">[17]</sup></a> Almost from his first pay, he displayed a philanthropic verve, donating about 6% of his earnings to charity, which increased to 10% by the age of twenty.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-17"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-17">[18]</sup></a>

In 1859, Rockefeller went into the produce commission business with a partner, <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maurice_B.Clark&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Maurice B. Clark (page does not exist)">Maurice B. Clark</a>, and they raised $4,000 in capital. Thrilled to be his own employer, Rockefeller went steadily ahead in business from there, never having a losing year during the rest of his career.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-18"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18">[19]</sup></a> They began their trade in wholesale foodstuffs but then built an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_refinery" title="Oil refinery">oil refinery</a> in 1863 in "The Flats", then Cleveland's burgeoning industrial area. The refinery was directly owned by Andrews, Clark & Company, which was composed of Clark & Rockefeller, chemist Samuel Andrews, and M. B. Clark's two brothers. The commercial oil business was in its infancy. Whale oil had become too expensive for the masses, and a cheaper, general-purpose illuminant was desperately needed.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_note-19"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-19">[20]</sup></a>

While his brother Frank fought in the Civil War, Rockefeller tended to his thriving business and hired substitute soldiers to fight in his place. He also gave money to the Union cause, as did many rich Northerners who avoided combat.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-20"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20">[21]</sup></a> In February 1865, in what was later described by oil industry historian <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Yergin" title="Daniel Yergin">Daniel Yergin</a> as a "critical" action, Rockefeller bought out the Clark brothers for $72,500 at auction, and established the firm of Rockefeller & Andrews. Rockefeller himself said, "it was the day that determined my career."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-21"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21">[22]</sup></a> Rockefeller was now well-positioned to take advantage of post-war prosperity and the great expansion westward fostered by the growth of railroads and an oil-fueled economy. He borrowed astutely and heavily, reinvested profits, adapted rapidly to changing markets, and fielded observers to keep a watchful eye over the quickly expanding industry.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_note-22"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-22">[23]</sup></a>

In 1864, Rockefeller married <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Spelman_Rockefeller" title="Laura Spelman Rockefeller">Laura Celestia "Cettie" Spelman</a>. They would have four daughters and one son. He admitted later, "Her judgment was always better than mine. Without her keen advice, I would be a poor man."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-23"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-23">[24]</sup></a> He became a lifelong member of the then new Republican Party, and a strong supporter of Lincoln and the party’s abolitionist wing. He also became a faithful church go-er, taught Sunday school, and was a trustee, clerk, and occasional janitor for the modest Erie Street Baptist mission church.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-24"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-24">[25]</sup></a> Religion would continue to be a guiding force throughout his life and Rockefeller believed it to be the source of his success. As he bluntly stated later, "God gave me money", and he felt no apology was necessary for how he acquired it. He felt entirely at ease and righteous following <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wesley" title="John Wesley">John Wesley</a>’s dictum, "gain all you can, save all you can, and give all you can."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-25"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-25">[26]</sup></a> In 1866, John D. Rockefeller's brother, William, built another refinery in Cleveland and John was brought into the partnership. In 1867, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_M.Flagler" title="Henry M. Flagler">Henry M. Flagler</a> became a partner, and the firm of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockefeller,Andrews%26_Flagler" title="Rockefeller, Andrews & Flagler">Rockefeller, Andrews & Flagler</a> was established. By 1868, with Rockefeller continuing to borrow heavily and reinvest most of the profits while controlling cost and utilizing his refineries' waste, the company owned two Cleveland refineries and a marketing subsidiary in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City" title="New York City">New York</a>, and it was the largest oil refinery in the world.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-26"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-26">[27]</sup></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-27"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-27">[</sup></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_note-27"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-27">28]</sup></a> Rockefeller, Andrews & Flagler was the predecessor of the Standard Oil Company.</p>

<h2>Standard Oil</h2>

<div class="rellink relarticle mainarticle">Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oil" title="Standard Oil">Standard Oil</a></div>

John D. Rockefeller ca. 1875</div>

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<p>By the end of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War" title="American Civil War">American Civil War</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland" title="Cleveland">Cleveland</a> was one of the five main refining centers in the U.S. (besides <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania" title="Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania">Pittsburgh</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia" title="Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York" title="New York">New York</a>, and the region in northwestern <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania" title="Pennsylvania">Pennsylvania</a> where most of the oil originated). In June 1870, Rockefeller formed Standard Oil of Ohio, which rapidly became the most profitable refiner in Ohio. Standard Oil grew to become one of the largest shippers of oil and kerosene in the country. The railroads were fighting fiercely for traffic and, in an attempt to create a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartel" title="Cartel">cartel</a> to control freight rates, formed the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Improvement_Company" title="South Improvement Company">South Improvement Company</a>, in collusion with Standard and other oil men outside the main oil centers.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-28"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-28">[29]</sup></a> The cartel received preferential treatment as a high-volume shipper, which included not just steep rebates of up to 50% for their product, but also rebates for the shipment of competing products.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-29"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-29">[30]</sup></a> Part of this scheme was the announcement of sharply increased freight charges. This touched off a firestorm of protest from independent oil well owners, including boycotts and vandalism, which eventually led to the discovery of Standard Oil's part in the deal. A major New York refiner, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Pratt_and_Company" title="Charles Pratt and Company">Charles Pratt and Company</a>, headed by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Pratt" title="Charles Pratt">Charles Pratt</a> and <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_H.Rogers" title="Henry H. Rogers">Henry H. Rogers</a>, led the opposition to this plan, and railroads soon backed off. Pennsylvania revoked the cartel’s charter and equal rates were restored for the time being.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_note-30"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-30">[31]</sup></a>

Undeterred, though vilified for the first time by the press, Rockefeller continued with his self-reinforcing cycle of buying competing refiners, improving the efficiency of his operations, pressing for discounts on oil shipments, undercutting his competition, making secret deals, raising investment pools, and buying rivals out. In less than four months in 1872, in what was later known as the "Cleveland Conquest" or "Cleveland Massacre", Standard Oil had absorbed 22 of its 26 Cleveland competitors.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-31"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-31">[32]</sup></a> Eventually, even his former antagonists, Pratt and Rogers, saw the futility of continuing to compete against Standard Oil: in 1874, they made a secret agreement with their old nemesis to be acquired. Pratt and Rogers became Rockefeller's partners. Rogers, in particular, became one of Rockefeller's key men in the formation of the Standard Oil Trust. Pratt's son, Charles Millard Pratt became Secretary of Standard Oil. For many of his competitors, Rockefeller had merely to show them his books so they could see what they were up against, then make them a decent offer. If they refused his offer, he told them he would run them into bankruptcy, then cheaply buy up their assets at auction. He saw himself as the industry’s savior, "an angel of mercy", absorbing the weak and making the industry as a whole stronger, more efficient, and more competitive.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-32"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-32">[33]</sup></a> Standard was growing horizontally and vertically. It added its own pipelines, tank cars, and home delivery network. It kept oil prices low to stave off competitors, made its products affordable to the average household, and to increase market penetration, sometimes sold below cost if necessary. It developed over 300 oil-based products from tar to paint to Vaseline to chewing gum. By the end of the 1870’s, Standard was refining over 90% of the oil in the U.S.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-33"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-33">[34]</sup></a> Rockefeller had already become a millionaire.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-34"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-34">[35]</sup></a></p>

Standard Oil Trust Certificate 1896</div>

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<p>In 1877, Standard clashed with the Pennsylvania Railroad, its chief hauler. Rockefeller had envisioned the use of pipelines as an alternative transport system for oil and began a campaign to build and acquire them.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-35"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-35">[36]</sup></a> The railroad, seeing Standard’s incursion into the transportation and pipeline fields, struck back and formed a subsidiary to buy and build oil refineries and pipelines.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-36"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-36">[37]</sup></a> Standard countered and held back its shipments, and with the help of other railroads, started a price war that dramatically reduced freight payments and caused labor unrest as well. Rockefeller eventually prevailed and the railroad sold all its oil interests to Standard. But in the aftermath of that battle, in 1879 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania indicted Rockefeller on charges of monopolizing the oil trade, starting an avalanche of similar court proceedings in other states and making a national issue of Standard Oil’s business practices.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_note-37"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-37">[38]</sup></a></p>

<h3>Monopoly</h3>

<p>Standard Oil gradually gained almost complete control of oil refining and marketing in the United States through <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizontal_integration" title="Horizontal integration">horizontal integration</a>. In the kerosene industry, Standard Oil ruthlessly replaced the old distribution system with its own vertical system. It supplied kerosene by tank cars that brought the fuel to local markets and tank wagons then delivered to retail customers, thus bypassing the existing network of wholesale jobbers. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-38"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-38">[39]</sup></a> Despite improving the quality and availability of kerosene products while greatly reducing their cost to the public (the price of kerosene dropped by nearly 80% over the life of the company), Standard Oil's business practices created intense controversy. Standard’s most potent weapons against competition were underselling, differential pricing, and secret transportation rebates.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-39"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-39">[40]</sup></a> The firm was attacked by journalists and politicians throughout its existence, in part for these <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly" title="Monopoly">monopolistic</a> methods, giving momentum to the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-trust" title="Anti-trust">anti-trust</a> movement. By 1880, according to the New York World, Standard Oil was "the most cruel, impudent, pitiless, and grasping monopoly that ever fastened upon a country."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-40"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-40">[41]</sup></a> To the critics Rockefeller blandly replied, "In a business so large as ours…some things are likely to be done which we cannot approve. We correct them as soon as they come to our knowledge.”<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-41"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-41">[42]</sup></a>

At that time, many legislatures had made it difficult to incorporate in one state and operate in another. As a result, Rockefeller and his associates owned separate corporations across dozens of states, making their management of the whole enterprise rather unwieldy. In 1882, Rockefeller's lawyers created an innovative form of corporation to centralize their holdings, giving birth to the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oil_Trust" title="Standard Oil Trust">Standard Oil Trust</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-42"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-42">[43]</sup></a> The "<a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust%2819th_century%29" title="Trust (19th century)">trust</a>" was a corporation of corporations, and the entity's size and wealth drew much attention. Nine trustees, including Rockefeller, ran the 41 companies in the trust.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-43"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-43">[44]</sup></a> The public and the press were immediately suspicious of this new legal entity, but other businesses seized upon the idea and emulated it, further inflaming public sentiment. Standard Oil had gained an aura of invincibility, always prevailing against competitors, critics, and political enemies. It had become the richest, biggest, most feared business in the world, seemingly immune to the boom and bust of the business cycle, consistently racking up profits year after year.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-44"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-44">[45]</sup></a>

Its vast American empire included 20,000 domestic wells, 4,000 miles of pipeline, 5,000 tank cars, and over 100,000 employees.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-45"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-45">[46]</sup></a> Its share of world oil refining topped out above 90% but slowly dropped to about 80% for the rest of the century.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-46"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-46">[47]</sup></a> Ironically, in spite of the formation of the trust and its perceived immunity from all competition, by the 1880’s Standard Oil had passed its peak of power over the world oil market. Rockefeller finally gave up his dream of controlling all the world’s oil refining, he admitted later, “We realized that public sentiment would be against us if we actually refined all the oil.”<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-47"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-47">[48]</sup></a> In reality, foreign competition and new finds abroad eroded his dominance. In the early 1880’s, Rockefeller created one of his most important innovations. Rather than try to influence the price of crude oil directly, Standard Oil had been exercising indirect control by altering oil storage charges to suit market conditions. Rockefeller then decided to order the issuance of certificates against oil stored in its pipelines. These certificates became traded by speculators, thus creating the first oil-futures market which effectively set spot market prices from then on. The National Petroleum Exchange opened in Manhattan in late 1882 to facilitate the oil futures trading.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-48"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-48">[49]</sup></a>

Even though 85% of world crude production was still coming from Pennsylvania wells in the 1880’s, overseas drilling in Russia and Asia began to reach the world market.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-49"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-49">[50]</sup></a> Robert Nobel had established his own refining enterprise in the abundant and cheaper Russian oil fields, including the region’s first pipeline and the world’s first oil tanker. The Paris Rothschilds jumped into the fray providing financing.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-50"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-50">[51]</sup></a> Additional fields were discovered in Burma and Java. Even more critical, the invention of the light bulb gradually began to erode the dominance of kerosene for illumination. But Standard Oil adapted, developing its own European presence, expanding into natural gas production in the U.S. then into gasoline for automobiles, which until then had been considered a waste product.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_note-51"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-51">[52]</sup></a>

Standard Oil moved its headquarters to New York City at 26 Broadway and Rockefeller became a central figure in the city’s business community. He bought a personal residence in 1884 on 54th street near the mansions of other magnates such as <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Vanderbilt" title="William Vanderbilt">William Vanderbilt</a>. Despite personal threats and constant pleas for charity, Rockefeller took the new elevated train to his downtown office daily.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-52"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-52">[53]</sup></a> In 1877, Congress created the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Commerce_Commission" title="Interstate Commerce Commission">Interstate Commerce Commission</a> which was tasked with enforcing equal rates for all railroad freight, but by then Standard was depending more on pipeline transport. More threatening to Standard’s power was the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman_Antitrust_Act" title="Sherman Antitrust Act">Sherman Antitrust Act</a> of 1890, originally used to control unions, but later central to the breakup of the Standard Oil trust.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-53"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-53">[54]</sup></a> Ohio was especially vigorous in applying its state anti-trust laws, and finally forced a separation of Standard Oil of Ohio from the rest of the company in 1892, the first step in the dissolution of the trust.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_note-54"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-54">[55]</sup></a>

In the 1890’s, Rockefeller expanded into iron ore and ore transportation, forcing a collision with steel magnate <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Carnegie" title="Andrew Carnegie">Andrew Carnegie</a>, and their competition became a major subject of the newspapers and the cartoonists.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-55"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-55">[56]</sup></a> Rockefeller also went on a massive buying spree acquiring land for crude oil production in Ohio, Indiana, and West Virginia, as the original Pennsylvania oil fields began to play out.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-56"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-56">[57]</sup></a> Amidst the frenetic expansion, Rockefeller began to think of retirement. The daily management of the trust was turned over to John D. Archbold and Rockefeller bought a new estate, <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pocantico_Hills&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Pocantico Hills (page does not exist)">Pocantico Hills</a>, north of New York City, turning more time to leisure activities including the new sports of bicycling and golf.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_note-57"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-57">[58]</sup></a>

Upon his ascent to the presidency, Theodore Roosevelt initiated dozens of suits under the Sherman Antitrust Act and coaxed reforms out of Congress. In 1901, U.S. Steel, now controlled by <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.Pierpont_Morgan" title="J. Pierpont Morgan">J. Pierpont Morgan</a>, having bought Andrew Carnegie’s steel assets, offered to buy Standard’s iron interests as well. A deal brokered by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Clay_Frick" title="Henry Clay Frick">Henry Clay Frick</a> exchanged Standard’s iron interests for U.S. Steel stock and gave Rockefeller and his son membership on the company’s board of directors. In full retirement at age 63, Rockefeller earned over $58 million in investments in 1902.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-58"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-58">[59]</sup></a>

One of the most effective attacks on Rockefeller and his firm was the 1904 publication of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_History_of_the_Standard_Oil_Company" title="The History of the Standard Oil Company"><i>The History of the Standard Oil Company</i></a><i>,</i> by <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_Tarbell" title="Ida Tarbell">Ida Tarbell</a>, a leading <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muckraker" title="Muckraker">muckraker</a>. She documented the company’s espionage, price wars, heavy-handed marketing tactics, and courtroom evasions.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_note-59"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-59">[60]</sup></a> Although her work prompted a huge backlash against the company, Tarbell claims to have been surprised at its magnitude. “I never had an animus against their size and wealth, never objected to their corporate form. I was willing that they should combine and grow as big and wealthy as they could, but only by legitimate means. But they had never played fair, and that ruined their greatness for me.” (Tarbell's father had been driven out of the oil business during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Improvement_Company" title="South Improvement Company">South Improvement Company</a> affair.)

Rockefeller responded by calling her “Miss Tarbarrel” in private but held back in public saying only, “not a word about that misguided woman.”<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-60"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-60">[61]</sup></a> Instead Rockefeller began a publicity campaign to put his company and himself in a better light. Though he had long maintained a policy of active silence with the press, he decided to make himself more accessible and responded with conciliatory comments such as, “capital and labor are both wild forces which require intelligent legislation to hold them in restriction.”<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-61"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-61">[62]</sup></a> He wrote and published his memoirs beginning in 1908.</p>

Rockefeller as an industrial emperor, 1901 cartoon from <i>Puck</i> magazine</div>

</div>

<p>Critics found his writing to be sanitized and disingenuous and thought that statements such as “the underlying, essential element of success in business is to follow the established laws of high-class dealing” seemed to be at odds with his true business methods.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_note-62"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-62">[63]</sup></a>

Rockefeller and his son continued to consolidate their oil interests as best as they could until New Jersey, in 1909, changed its incorporation laws to effectively allow a re-creation of the trust in the form of a single <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holding_company" title="Holding company">holding company</a>. Rockefeller retained his nominal title as president until 1911 and he kept his stock. At last in 1911, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States" title="Supreme Court of the United States">Supreme Court of the United States</a> found <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oil_Company_of_New_Jersey" title="Standard Oil Company of New Jersey">Standard Oil Company of New Jersey</a> in violation of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman_Antitrust_Act" title="Sherman Antitrust Act">Sherman Antitrust Act</a>. By then the trust still had a 70% market share of the refined oil market but only 14% of the U.S. crude oil supply.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-63"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-63">[64]</sup></a> The court ruled that the trust originated in illegal <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly" title="Monopoly">monopoly</a> practices and ordered it to be broken up into 34 new companies. These included, among many others, Continental Oil, which became <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conoco" title="Conoco">Conoco</a>, now part of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ConocoPhillips" title="ConocoPhillips">ConocoPhillips</a>; Standard of Indiana, which became <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amoco" title="Amoco">Amoco</a>, now part of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BP" title="BP">BP</a>; Standard of California, which became <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevron_Corporation" title="Chevron Corporation">Chevron</a>; Standard of New Jersey, which became <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esso" title="Esso">Esso</a> (and later, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon" title="Exxon">Exxon</a>), now part of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ExxonMobil" title="ExxonMobil">ExxonMobil</a>; Standard of New York, which became <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobil" title="Mobil">Mobil</a>, now part of ExxonMobil; and Standard of Ohio, which became <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sohio" title="Sohio">Sohio</a>, now part of BP. Pennzoil and Chevron have remained independent.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-64"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-64">[65]</sup></a>

Rockefeller, who had rarely sold shares, held over 25% of Standard’s stock at the time of the breakup.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-65"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-65">[66]</sup></a> He, as well as all stockholders, received proportionate shares in each of the 34 companies. In the aftermath, Rockefeller’s control over the oil industry was somewhat reduced but over the next ten years, the breakup also proved immensely profitable for him. The companies’ combined net worth rose fivefold and Rockefeller’s personal wealth jumped to $900,000,000.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-66"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-66">[67]</sup></a></p>

<h2>Philanthropy</h2>

<p>From his very first paycheck, Rockefeller <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tithe" title="Tithe">tithed</a> ten percent of his earnings to his church. As his wealth grew, so did his giving, primarily to educational and public health causes, but also for basic science and the arts. He was advised primarily by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_T._Gates" title="Frederick T. Gates">Frederick T. Gates</a> after 1891, and, after 1897, also by his son.

Rockefeller believed in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efficiency_Movement" title="Efficiency Movement">Efficiency Movement</a>, arguing that</p>

<dl>

<dd>"To help an inefficient, ill-located, unnecessary school is a waste...it is highly probable that enough money has been squandered on unwise educational projects to have built up a national system of higher education adequate to our needs, if the money had been properly directed to that end."</dd>

</dl>

<p>He and his advisers invented the conditional grant that required the recipient to "root the institution in the affections of as many people as possible who, as contributors, become personally concerned, and thereafter may be counted on to give to the institution their watchful interest and cooperation."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_note-67"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-67">[68]</sup></a>

In 1884, he provided major funding for a college in Atlanta for African-American women that became <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spelman_College" title="Spelman College">Spelman College</a> (named for Rockefeller's in-laws who were ardent <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolitionism" title="Abolitionism">abolitionists</a> before the Civil War). The oldest existing building on Spelman's campus, Rockefeller Hall, is named after him. Rockefeller also gave considerable donations to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denison_University" title="Denison University">Denison University</a> and other Baptist colleges.

Rockefeller gave $80 million to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Chicago" title="University of Chicago">University of Chicago</a> under <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Rainey_Harper" title="William Rainey Harper">William Rainey Harper</a>, turning a small Baptist college into a world-class institution by 1900. His <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Education_Board" title="General Education Board">General Education Board</a>, founded in 1902, was established to promote education at all levels everywhere in the country. It was especially active in supporting black schools in the South. Its most dramatic impact came by funding the recommendations of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexner_Report" title="Flexner Report">Flexner Report</a> of 1910, which had been funded by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_Foundation_for_the_Advancement_of_Teaching" title="Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching">Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching</a>; it revolutionized the study of medicine in the United States. Rockefeller also provided financial support to Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Brown, Bryn Mawr, Wellesley and Vassar.</p>

Rockefeller and his son <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller,Jr." title="John D. Rockefeller, Jr.">John D. Rockefeller, Jr.</a> in 1915.</div>

</div>

<p>Despite his personal preference for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy" title="Homeopathy">homeopathy</a>, Rockefeller, on Gates's advice, became one of the first great benefactors of <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_science" title="Medical science">medical science</a>. In 1901, he founded the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockefeller_University" title="Rockefeller University">Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research</a> in New York. It changed its name to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockefeller_University" title="Rockefeller University">Rockefeller University</a> in 1965, after expanding its mission to include graduate education. It claims a connection to 23 Nobel laureates. He founded the Rockefeller Sanitary Commission in 1909, an organization that eventually eradicated the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hookworm" title="Hookworm">hookworm</a> disease that had long plagued the American South. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockefeller_Foundation" title="Rockefeller Foundation">Rockefeller Foundation</a> was created in 1913 to continue and expand the scope of the work of the Sanitary Commission, which was closed in 1915. He gave nearly $250 million to the foundation, which focused on public health, medical training, and the arts. It endowed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johns_Hopkins_Bloomberg_School_of_Public_Health" title="Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health">Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health</a>, the first of its kind. It built the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peking_Union_Medical_College" title="Peking Union Medical College">Peking Union Medical College</a> into a great institution, helped in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I">World War I</a> war relief, and it employed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lyon_Mackenzie_King" title="William Lyon Mackenzie King">William Lyon Mackenzie King</a> of Canada to study industrial relations. Rockefeller's fourth main philanthropy, the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Foundation, created in 1918, supported work in the social studies; it was later absorbed into the Rockefeller Foundation. However, all told, Rockefeller gave away about $550 million.

Oddly enough, Rockefeller became well known in his later life for the practice of giving dimes to adults and nickels to children wherever he went. He even gave dimes as a playful gesture to men like tire mogul <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Firestone" title="Harvey Firestone">Harvey Firestone</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_note-68"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-68">[69]</sup></a></p>

John D. Rockefeller's painting by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Singer_Sargent" title="John Singer Sargent">John Singer Sargent</a> in 1917</div>

</div>

<p>As a youth, Rockefeller allegedly said that his two great ambitions were to make $100,000 and to live 100 years. Rockefeller died of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arteriosclerosis" title="Arteriosclerosis">arteriosclerosis</a> on May 23, 1937, two months shy of his 98th birthday,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-69"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-69">[70]</sup></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-70"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-70">[</sup></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-70"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-70">71]</sup></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-71"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-71">[</sup></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-71"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-71">72]</sup></a> at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Casements" title="The Casements">the Casements</a>, his home in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ormond_Beach,Florida" title="Ormond Beach, Florida">Ormond Beach, Florida</a>. He was buried in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_View_Cemetery" title="Lake View Cemetery">Lake View Cemetery</a> in Cleveland.</p>

<h2>Legacy</h2>

<p>Rockefeller had a long and controversial career in the industry followed by a long career in philanthropy. His image is an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amalgamation%28fiction%29" title="Amalgamation (fiction)">amalgam</a> of all of these experiences and the many ways he was viewed by his contemporaries. These contemporaries include his former competitors, many of whom were driven to ruin, but many others of whom sold out at a profit (or a profitable stake in Standard Oil, as Rockefeller often offered his shares as payment for a business), and quite a few of whom became very wealthy as managers as well as owners in Standard Oil. They also include politicians and writers, some of whom served Rockefeller's interests, and some of whom built their careers by fighting Rockefeller and the "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robber_baron%28industrialist%29" title="Robber baron (industrialist)">robber barons</a>".

Biographer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_Nevins" title="Allan Nevins">Allan Nevins</a>, answering Rockefeller's enemies, concluded:</p>

<tr>

<td valign="top" >The rise of the Standard Oil men to great wealth was not from poverty. It was not meteor-like, but accomplished over a quarter of a century by courageous venturing in a field so risky that most large capitalists avoided it, by arduous labors, and by more sagacious and farsighted planning than had been applied to any other American industry. The oil fortunes of 1894 were not larger than steel fortunes, banking fortunes, and railroad fortunes made in similar periods. But it is the assertion that the Standard magnates gained their wealth by appropriating "the property of others" that most challenges our attention. We have abundant evidence that Rockefeller's consistent policy was to offer fair terms to competitors and to buy them out, for cash, stock, or both, at fair appraisals; we have the statement of one impartial historian that Rockefeller was decidedly "more humane toward competitors" than <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Carnegie" title="Andrew Carnegie">Carnegie</a>; we have the conclusion of another that his wealth was "the least tainted of all the great fortunes of his day."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_note-72"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-72">[73]</sup></a></td>

</tr>

</tbody></table>

Biographer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Chernow" title="Ron Chernow">Ron Chernow</a> wrote of Rockefeller:

<tr>

<td valign="top" >What makes him problematic—and why he continues to inspire ambivalent reactions—is that his good side was every bit as good as his bad side was bad. Seldom has history produced such a contradictory figure.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_note-73"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-73">[74]</sup></a></td>

</tr>

</tbody></table>

<p>Notwithstanding these varied aspects of his public life, Rockefeller may ultimately be remembered simply for the raw size of his wealth. In 1902, an audit showed Rockefeller was worth about $200 million—compared to the total national GDP of $24 billion then.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-measuringworth.org-74"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-measuringworth.org_74-0">[75]</sup></a> His wealth continued to grow significantly (in line with U.S. economic growth) after as the demand for gasoline soared, eventually reaching about $900 million on the eve of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I">First World War</a>, including significant interests in banking, shipping, mining, railroads, and other industries. According to the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Times" title="New York Times">New York Times</a> obituary, “it was estimated after Mr. Rockefeller retired from business that he had accumulated close to $1,500,000,000 out of the earnings of the Standard Oil trust and out of his other investments. This was probably the greatest amount of wealth that any private citizen had ever been able to accumulate by his own efforts.”<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller#cite_note-75"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-75">[76]</sup></a> By the time of his death in 1937, Rockefeller's remaining fortune, largely tied up in permanent family trusts, was estimated at $1.4 billion, while the total national GDP was $92 billion.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_note-76"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-76">[77]</sup></a> According to some methods of wealth calculation, Rockefeller's net worth over the last decades of his life would easily place him as the wealthiest known person in recent history. As a percentage of the United States' GDP, no other American fortune — including those of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates" title="Bill Gates">Bill Gates</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Walton" title="Sam Walton">Sam Walton</a> — would even come close.

The Rockefeller wealth, distributed as it was through a system of foundations and trusts, continued to fund family philanthropic, commercial, and, eventually, political aspirations throughout the 20th century. Grandson <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Rockefeller" title="David Rockefeller">David Rockefeller</a> was a leading New York banker, serving for over 20 years as CEO of <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chase_Manhattan" title="Chase Manhattan">Chase Manhattan</a> (now part of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPMorgan_Chase" title="JPMorgan Chase">JPMorgan Chase</a>). Another grandson, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_A.Rockefeller" title="Nelson A. Rockefeller">Nelson A. Rockefeller</a>, was Republican governor of New York and the 41st <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_President_of_the_United_States" title="Vice President of the United States">Vice President of the United States</a>. A third grandson, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winthrop_Rockefeller" title="Winthrop Rockefeller">Winthrop Rockefeller</a>, served as Republican <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_of_Arkansas" title="Governor of Arkansas">Governor of Arkansas</a>. Great-grandson, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Rockefeller" title="Jay Rockefeller">John D. "Jay" Rockefeller IV</a> is currently a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party%28United_States%29" title="Democratic Party (United States)">Democratic</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Senators_from_West_Virginia" title="List of United States Senators from West Virginia">Senator from West Virginia</a> and a former governor of West Virginia, and another, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winthrop_Paul_Rockefeller" title="Winthrop Paul Rockefeller">Winthrop Paul Rockefeller</a>, served ten years as Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas. John D. Rockefeller rests at Cleveland, Ohio's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_View_Cemetery" title="Lake View Cemetery">Lake View Cemetery</a>.</p>

<h3>Poem about his life</h3>

<tr>

<td class="mbox-text"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiquote" title="Wikiquote">Wikiquote</a> has a collection of quotations related to: <a class="extiw" href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Special:Search/John_D._Rockefeller" title="q:Special:Search/John D. Rockefeller"><i><b>John D. Rockefeller</b></i></a></td>

</tr>

</tbody></table>

Rockefeller, at the age of eighty-six, penned the following words to sum up his life<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_note-77"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-77">[78]</sup></a>:

<tr>

<p>I was early taught to work as well as play,

My life has been one long, happy holiday;

Full of work and full of play-

I dropped the worry on the way-

And God was good to me everyday.</p>

</td>

</tr>

</tbody></table>

<tr>

<ul>

<li><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_wealthy_historical_figures" title="List of most wealthy historical figures">List of most wealthy historical figures</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oil" title="Standard Oil">Standard Oil</a></li>

<li><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Mobil" title="Exxon Mobil">Exxon Mobil</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockefeller_family" title="Rockefeller family">Rockefeller family</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockefeller_Foundation" title="Rockefeller Foundation">Rockefeller Foundation</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockefeller_University" title="Rockefeller University">Rockefeller University</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockefeller_Center" title="Rockefeller Center">Rockefeller Center</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.Rockefeller,Jr." title="John D. Rockefeller, Jr.">John D. Rockefeller, Jr.</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_V._Harkness" title="Stephen V. Harkness">Stephen V. Harkness</a></li>

<li><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Celestia_Spelman" title="Laura Celestia Spelman">Laura Celestia Spelman</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_T._Gates" title="Frederick T. Gates">Frederick T. Gates</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Rockefeller" title="William Rockefeller">William Rockefeller</a></li>

<li><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Flagler" title="Henry Flagler">Henry Flagler</a></li>

<li><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_H._Rogers" title="Henry H. Rogers">Henry H. Rogers</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Pratt" title="Charles Pratt">Charles Pratt</a></li>

</ul>

</td>

<ul>

<li><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Archbold" title="John D. Archbold">John D. Archbold</a></li>

<li><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_Tarbell" title="Ida Tarbell">Ida Tarbell</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Allen" title="Gary Allen">Gary Allen</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Gould" title="Jay Gould">Jay Gould</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Carnegie" title="Andrew Carnegie">Andrew Carnegie</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.P.Morgan" title="J. P. Morgan">J. P. Morgan</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GE_Building" title="GE Building">GE Building</a> - The Rockefeller family office, <i>Room 5600</i></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kykuit" title="Kykuit">Kykuit</a> - The Rockefeller family estate, <i>Pocantico</i></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly" title="Monopoly">Monopoly</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_industry" title="Petroleum industry">Petroleum industry</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robber_baron_%28industrialist%29" title="Robber baron (industrialist)">Robber baron</a></li>

<li><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludlow_Massacre" title="Ludlow Massacre">Ludlow Massacre</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Chicago" title="University of Chicago">University of Chicago</a></li>

</ul>

</td>

</tr>

</tbody></table>

<h2>Bibliography</h2>

<tr>

</td>

<td class="mbox-text">This article includes a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources">list of references</a>, related reading or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:External_links" title="Wikipedia:External links">external links</a>, but <b>its sources remain unclear because it lacks <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources#Inline_citations" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources">inline citations</a>.</b> Please <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Fact_and_Reference_Check" title="Wikipedia:WikiProject Fact and Reference Check">improve</a> this article by introducing more precise citations <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:When_to_cite" title="Wikipedia:When to cite">where appropriate</a>. <i><small>(April 2009)</small></i></td>

</tr>

</tbody></table>

<ul>

<li>Bringhurst, Bruce. <i>Antitrust</i></li>

<li>Chernow, Ron. <i>Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.</i> Warner Books. (1998). <a class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0679757031">ISBN 0-679-75703-1</a> <a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.h-net.msu.edu/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=25644997210593">Online review.</a></li>

<li>Collier, Peter, and David Horowitz. <i>The Rockefellers: An American Dynasty</i>. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1976.</li>

<li>Ernst, Joseph W., editor. <i>"Dear Father"/"Dear Son:" Correspondence of John D. Rockefeller and John D. Rockefeller, Jr.</i> New York: Fordham University Press, with the Rockefeller Archive Center, 1994.</li>

<li>Folsom, Jr., Burton W. <i>The Myth of the Robber Barons</i>. New York: Young America, 2003.</li>

<li>Fosdick, Raymond B. <i>The Story of the Rockefeller Foundation</i>. New York: Transaction Publishers, Reprint, 1989.</li>

<li>Gates, Frederick Taylor. <i>Chapters in My Life</i>. New York: The Free Press, 1977.</li>

<li>Giddens, Paul H. <i>Standard Oil Company (Companies and men)</i>. New York: Ayer Co. Publishing, 1976.</li>

<li>Goulder, Grace. <i>John D. Rockefeller: The Cleveland Years</i>. Western Reserve Historical Society, 1972.</li>

<li>Harr, John Ensor, and Peter J. Johnson. <i>The Rockefeller Century: Three Generations of America's Greatest Family.</i> New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1988.</li>

<li>Harr, John Ensor, and Peter J. Johnson. <i>The Rockefeller Conscience: An American Family in Public and in Private</i>. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1992.</li>

<li>Hawke, David Freeman. <i>John D: The Founding Father of the Rockefellers</i>. New York: Harper and Row, 1980.</li>

<li>Hidy, Ralph W. and Muriel E. Hidy. <i>History of Standard Oil Company (New Jersey : Pioneering in Big Business)</i>. New York: Ayer Co. Publishing, Reprint, 1987.</li>

<li>Jonas, Gerald. <i>The Circuit Riders: Rockefeller Money and the Rise of Modern Science</i>. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 1989.</li>

<li>Josephson, Matthew. <i>The Robber Barons</i>. London: Harcourt, 1962.</li>

<li>Kert, Bernice. <i>Abby Aldrich Rockefeller: The Woman in the Family</i>. New York: Random House, 1993.</li>

<li>Klein, Henry H. <i>Dynastic America and Those Who Own It</i>. New York: Kessinger Publishing, [1921] Reprint, 2003.</li>

<li>Knowlton, Evelyn H. and George S. Gibb. <i>History of Standard Oil Company: Resurgent Years</i> 1956.</li>

<li>Latham, Earl ed. <i>John D. Rockefeller: Robber Baron or Industrial Statesman?</i> 1949.</li>

<li>Manchester, William. <i>A Rockefeller Family Portrait: From John D. to Nelson</i>. New York: Little, Brown, 1958.</li>

<li>Morris, Charles R. <i>The Tycoons: How Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and J. P. Morgan Invented the American Supereconomy</i> . New York: Owl Books, Reprint, 2006.</li>

<li>Nevins, Allan. <i>John D. Rockefeller: The Heroic Age of American Enterprise</i>. 2 vols. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1940.</li>

<li>Nevins, Allan. <i>Study in Power: John D. Rockefeller, Industrialist and Philanthropist</i>. 2 vols. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1953.</li>

<li>Pyle, Tom, as told to Beth Day. <i>Pocantico: Fifty Years on the Rockefeller Domain</i>. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pierce, 1964.</li>

<li>Roberts, Ann Rockefeller. <i>The Rockefeller Family Home: Kykuit</i>. New York: Abbeville Publishing Group, 1998.</li>

<li>Rockefeller, John D.; <i>Random Reminiscences of Men and Events</i>. New York: Sleepy Hollow Press and Rockefeller Archive Center, 1984 [1909].</li>

<li>Rose, Kenneth W. and Stapleton, Darwin H. "Toward a "Universal Heritage": Education and the Development of Rockefeller Philanthropy, 1884; 1913 " <i>Teachers College Record</i>" 1992/93(3): 536-555. ISSN.</li>

<li>Sampson, Anthony. <i>The Seven Sisters: The Great Oil Companies and the World They Made</i>. Hodder & Stoughton., 1975.</li>

<li>Smith, Sharon. <i>Rockefeller Family Fables</i> Counterpunch May 8, 2008 <a class="external free" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.counterpunch.org/sharon05082008.html">http://www.counterpunch.org/sharon05082008.html</a></li>

<li>Stasz, Clarice. <i>The Rockefeller Women: Dynasty of Piety, Privacy, and Service</i>. St. Martins Press, 1995.</li>

<li><a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.history.rochester.edu/fuels/tarbell/MAIN.HTM">Tarbell, Ida M. <i>The History of the Standard Oil Company</i></a> 2 vols, Gloucester, Mass: Peter Smith , 1963. [1904].</li>

<li>Williamson, Harold F. and Arnold R. Daum. <i>The American Petroleum Industry: The Age of Illumination,</i>, 1959; also vol 2, <i>American Petroleum Industry: The Age of Energy</i>, 1964.</li>

<li>Yergin, Daniel. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prize:The_Epic_Quest_for_Oil,Money,_and_Power" title="The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power"><i>The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power</i></a>. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991.</li>

<li>Public Diary of John D. Rockefeller, now found in the Cleveland Western Historical Society</li>

</ul>

<h2>References</h2>

<li id="cite_note-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-0"><b>^</b></a> "<a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/acs/1890s/rockefeller/bio2.htm">John D. and Standard Oil</a>". Bowling Green State University. <a class="external free" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/acs/1890s/rockefeller/bio2.htm">http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/acs/1890s/rockefeller/bio2.htm</a>. Retrieved 2008-05-13. </li>

<li id="cite_note-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-1"><b>^</b></a> <a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/fortune/0702/gallery.richestamericans.fortune/index.html"><i>Fortune Magazine</i> lists the richest Americans</a>, not by the changing value of the dollar but by percentage of <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GDP" title="GDP">GDP</a>: Rockefeller is credited with a Wealth/GDP of 1/65. (accessed 20 August 2009).</li>

<li id="cite_note-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-2"><b>^</b></a> "<a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.askmen.com/toys/top_10/11b_top_10_list.html">Top 10 Richest Men Of All Time</a>". <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AskMen.com" title="AskMen.com">AskMen.com</a>. <a class="external free" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.askmen.com/toys/top_10/11b_top_10_list.html">http://www.askmen.com/toys/top_10/11b_top_10_list.html</a>. Retrieved 2007-05-29. </li>

<li id="cite_note-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-3"><b>^</b></a> "<a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rockefellers/filmmore/pt.html">The Rockefellers</a>". <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PBS" title="PBS">PBS</a>. <a class="external free" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rockefellers/filmmore/pt.html">http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rockefellers/filmmore/pt.html</a>. Retrieved 2007-05-29. </li>

<li id="cite_note-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-4"><b>^</b></a> "<a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/fortune/0702/gallery.richestamericans.fortune/index.html">The Richest Americans</a>". <i>[[Fortune (magazine)|]]</i>. <a class="external free" rel="nofollow" href="http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/fortune/0702/gallery.richestamericans.fortune/index.html">http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/fortune/0702/gallery.richestamericans.fortune/index.html</a>. Retrieved 2007-07-17. </li>

<li id="cite_note-5"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-5"><b>^</b></a> "<a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.nytimes.com/ref/business/20070715_GILDED_GRAPHIC.html#">The Wealthiest Americans Ever</a>". <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times" title="The New York Times">The New York Times</a>. <a class="external free" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.nytimes.com/ref/business/20070715_GILDED_GRAPHIC.html#">http://www.nytimes.com/ref/business/20070715_GILDED_GRAPHIC.html#</a>. Retrieved 2007-07-17. </li>

<li id="cite_note-6"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-6"><b>^</b></a> <i>John D. Rockefeller</i>, by Albro Martin, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclopedia_Americana" title="Encyclopedia Americana"><i>Encyclopedia Americana</i></a><i> 1999</i> Vol. 23</li>

<li id="cite_note-7"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-7"><b>^</b></a> Chernow, (1998) p. 10</li>

<li id="cite_note-8"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-8"><b>^</b></a> Scheiffarth, Engelbert: <i>Der New Yorker Gouverneur Nelson A. Rockefeller und die Rockefeller im Neuwieder Raum.</i> Genealogisches Jahrbuch, <b>9</b> (1969), pp. 16-41</li>

<li id="cite_note-9"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-9"><b>^</b></a> Chernow, (1998) p. 11</li>

<li id="cite_note-10"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-10"><b>^</b></a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Chernow" title="Ron Chernow">Chernow, Ron</a> (May 5, 1998). <i>Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.</i>. Random House. pp. 6. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number" title="International Standard Book Number">ISBN</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0679438083" title="Special:BookSources/978-0679438083">978-0679438083</a>. </li>

<li id="cite_note-11"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-11"><b>^</b></a> Chernow, (1998) p. 43</li>

<li id="cite_note-12"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-12"><b>^</b></a> <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grant_Segall&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Grant Segall (page does not exist)">Segall, Grant</a> (2001). <i>John D. Rockefeller: Anointed With Oil</i>. Oxford University Press. pp. 14. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number" title="International Standard Book Number">ISBN</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-19-512147-3" title="Special:BookSources/0-19-512147-3">0-19-512147-3</a>. </li>

<li id="cite_note-13"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-13"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) pp. 15-16</li>

<li id="cite_note-14"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-14"><b>^</b></a> Chernow, (1998) p. 40</li>

<li id="cite_note-15"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-15"><b>^</b></a> Chernow, (1998) p. 46</li>

<li id="cite_note-16"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-16"><b>^</b></a> Chernow, (1998) p. 47</li>

<li id="cite_note-17"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-17"><b>^</b></a> Chernow, (1998) p. 50</li>

<li id="cite_note-18"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-18"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.25</li>

<li id="cite_note-19"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-19"><b>^</b></a> Chernow, (1998) pp. 73-74</li>

<li id="cite_note-20"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-20"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.28</li>

<li id="cite_note-21"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-21"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.32</li>

<li id="cite_note-22"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-22"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.32, 35</li>

<li id="cite_note-23"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-23"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.25</li>

<li id="cite_note-24"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-24"><b>^</b></a> Chernow, (1998) p. 52</li>

<li id="cite_note-25"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-25"><b>^</b></a> Chernow, (1998) pp. 54-55</li>

<li id="cite_note-26"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-26"><b>^</b></a> "<a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rockefellers/peopleevents/p_rock_jsr.html">People & Events: John D. Rockefeller Senior, 1839-1937</a>". PBS. <a class="external free" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rockefellers/peopleevents/p_rock_jsr.html">http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rockefellers/peopleevents/p_rock_jsr.html</a>. Retrieved 2008-06-10. </li>

<li id="cite_note-27"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-27"><b>^</b></a> "<a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/history/about_who_history.aspx">Our History</a>". ExxonMobil Corporation. <a class="external free" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/history/about_who_history.aspx">http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/history/about_who_history.aspx</a>. Retrieved 2008-06-10. </li>

<li id="cite_note-28"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-28"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.42</li>

<li id="cite_note-29"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-29"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.42</li>

<li id="cite_note-30"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-30"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.43</li>

<li id="cite_note-31"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-31"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.44</li>

<li id="cite_note-32"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-32"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.46</li>

<li id="cite_note-33"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-33"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) pp.48-49</li>

<li id="cite_note-34"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-34"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.52</li>

<li id="cite_note-35"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-35"><b>^</b></a> Chernow, (1998) p. 171</li>

<li id="cite_note-36"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-36"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.57</li>

<li id="cite_note-37"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-37"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.58</li>

<li id="cite_note-38"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-38"><b>^</b></a> Chernow, (1998) p. 253</li>

<li id="cite_note-39"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-39"><b>^</b></a> Chernow, (1998) p. 258</li>

<li id="cite_note-40"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-40"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.60</li>

<li id="cite_note-41"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-41"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.60</li>

<li id="cite_note-42"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-42"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.61</li>

<li id="cite_note-43"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-43"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.61</li>

<li id="cite_note-44"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-44"><b>^</b></a> Chernow, (1998) p. 249</li>

<li id="cite_note-45"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-45"><b>^</b></a> Chernow, (1998) p. 249</li>

<li id="cite_note-46"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-46"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.67</li>

<li id="cite_note-47"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-47"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.67</li>

<li id="cite_note-48"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-48"><b>^</b></a> Chernow, (1998) p. 259</li>

<li id="cite_note-49"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-49"><b>^</b></a> Chernow, (1998) p. 242</li>

<li id="cite_note-50"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-50"><b>^</b></a> Chernow, (1998) p.246</li>

<li id="cite_note-51"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-51"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.68</li>

<li id="cite_note-52"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-52"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) pp.62-63</li>

<li id="cite_note-53"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-53"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.69</li>

<li id="cite_note-54"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-54"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.69</li>

<li id="cite_note-55"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-55"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.77</li>

<li id="cite_note-56"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-56"><b>^</b></a> Chernow, (1998) p.287</li>

<li id="cite_note-57"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-57"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) pp.79-80</li>

<li id="cite_note-58"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-58"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.84</li>

<li id="cite_note-59"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-59"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.89</li>

<li id="cite_note-60"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-60"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.89</li>

<li id="cite_note-61"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-61"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.91</li>

<li id="cite_note-62"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-62"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.91</li>

<li id="cite_note-63"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-63"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.93</li>

<li id="cite_note-64"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-64"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.112</li>

<li id="cite_note-65"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-65"><b>^</b></a> Chernow, (1998) p.333</li>

<li id="cite_note-66"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-66"><b>^</b></a> Segall, (2001) p.93</li>

<li id="cite_note-67"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-67"><b>^</b></a> [Rockefeller p 183]</li>

<li id="cite_note-68"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-68"><b>^</b></a> Chernow, 613–14</li>

<li id="cite_note-69"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-69"><b>^</b></a> <a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.evancarmichael.com/Famous-Entrepreneurs/651/The-Richest-Man-In-History-Rockefeller-is-Born.html">The Richest Man In History: Rockefeller is Born</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-70"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-70"><b>^</b></a> <a class="external free" rel="nofollow" href="http://dead.atyourage.com/age/97/318">http://dead.atyourage.com/age/97/318</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-71"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-71"><b>^</b></a> <a class="external free" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.google.co.in/search?q=John+D.+Rockefeller+Death+was+due+to+heart+disease.&hl=en&rlz=1T4GGLJ_enIN337IN337&sa=2">http://www.google.co.in/search?q=John+D.+Rockefeller+Death+was+due+to+heart+disease.&hl=en&rlz=1T4GGLJ_enIN337IN337&sa=2</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-72"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-72"><b>^</b></a> Latham p 104.</li>

<li id="cite_note-73"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-73"><b>^</b></a> Chernow, Ron. <i>Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.</i> 1998.</li>

<li id="cite_note-measuringworth.org-74"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-measuringworth.org_74-0"><b>^</b></a> <a class="external free" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.measuringworth.org/datasets/usgdp/result.php">http://www.measuringworth.org/datasets/usgdp/result.php</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-75"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-75"><b>^</b></a> <a class="external free" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.strike-the-root.com/3/russell/russell19.html">http://www.strike-the-root.com/3/russell/russell19.html</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-76"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-76"><b>^</b></a> <a class="external free" rel="nofollow" href="http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/fortune/0702/gallery.richestamericans.fortune/index.html">http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/fortune/0702/gallery.richestamericans.fortune/index.html</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-77"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#cite_ref-77"><b>^</b></a> <a class="external free" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.anbhf.org/pdf/lee.pdf">http://www.anbhf.org/pdf/lee.pdf</a></li>

</ol>

</div>

<h2>External links</h2>

<tr>

<td class="mbox-text"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Commons" title="Wikimedia Commons">Wikimedia Commons</a> has media related to: <a class="extiw" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:John_D._Rockefeller" title="commons:Category:John D. Rockefeller"><i><b>John D. Rockefeller</b></i></a><i><b> </b></i></td>

</tr>

</tbody></table>

<ul>

<li><a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/author/John_D._Rockefeller">Works by John D. Rockefeller</a> at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Gutenberg" title="Project Gutenberg">Project Gutenberg</a></li>

<li><a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://archive.rockefeller.edu/publications/biblio/bibliofamily.php">The Rockefeller Archive Center: The authorised Rockefeller family bibliography</a></li>

<li><a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rockefellers/filmmore/pt.html">American Experience: <i>The Rockefellers</i></a> A full transcript of the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PBS" title="PBS">PBS</a> documentary on the family history, with contributions from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Krugman" title="Paul Krugman">Paul Krugman</a> and author <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Chernow" title="Ron Chernow">Ron Chernow</a>.</li>

<li><a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.history.rochester.edu/fuels/tarbell/MAIN.HTM">The History of the Standard Oil Company, by Ida Tarbell, full text, HTML</a></li>

<li><a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://johndrockefeller.org">John D. Rockefeller Biography</a></li>

<li><a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rockefellers/timeline/">Timeline of the Rockefeller family history since his birth</a></li>

<li><a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://homepages.rootsweb.com/%7E4fathers/Rockefellow/pafg08.htm#95">A genealogy of his family</a></li>

<li><a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.micheloud.com/FXM/SO/index.htm">Illustrated article about John D Rockefeller and the Standard Oil Company</a></li>

<li><a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/author/John+D.+Rockefeller">Works by John D. Rockefeller</a> at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Gutenberg" title="Project Gutenberg">Project Gutenberg</a></li>

<li><a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0708.html">Financier's Fortune in Oil Amassed in Industrial Era of 'Rugged Individualism'</a> NY Times Obituary, May 24, 1937</li>

<li><a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/05/17/reviews/980517.17beattyt.html?_r=1&oref=slogin">A Capital Life</a> A New York Times book review of "Titan" by Ron Chernow (1998).</li>

</ul>

</div>

John D. Rockefeller

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