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John D Rockefeller he had created an industrial empire -- and a personal fortune -- on a scale
the world had never known. He was like a little adult. When he went to
school, students talked about him being Mr. Serious. And although he had a wonderful sense
of humor that was very sly, for the most part he behaved very rigidly even, and liked things
orderly, the way his mother did. Things occurred according to schedules. And there was a reward
for good behavior, and there was a sacrifice for bad behavior. A Baptist preacher once
encouraged him to make as much money as he could -- and then give away as much as he
could. It was at this moment, Rockefeller later recalled, "that the financial plan ... of
my life was formed." John had hoped to go to college. Now, he dropped
out of high school and started looking for work -- to help support the family. "I did
not go to any small establishments," he recalled "... I was after something big." He found
a job as an assistant bookkeeper but threw himself into it with missionary intensity.
As soon as he starts working, there is nothing lighthearted or carefree about this young,
sixteen-year-old boy. He closely reviews every bill and jumps on errors of even a few pennies
in the bill. He is amazed at the laxity and inefficiency of these much older bosses who
are much more experienced. And I think that was the thing that distinguished Rockefeller
from an early age. Not so much brilliant, flashing intelligence, but this thorough,
plodding, systematic way that he did things. as his earnings grew, his ambition quickened.
He borrowed $1,000 from Devil Bill -- with interest -- and plunged into the risky business
of commodity trading -- buying and selling meat and grain. He was just eighteen. Only
a year later, the "something big" he was looking for surfaced — in the back woods of Pennsylvania.
Oil -- to grease the wheels of America's infant industries. Oil to fuel an explosion of growth.
News of the discovery unleashed pandemonium as thousands of speculators descended upon
the region. Overnight, wildcatters stripped away whole forests and put up thousands of
rickety derricks -- hoping to strike "black gold."
As the oil gushed skyward, fantastic stories appeared of instant fortunes. Among the Cleveland
businessmen lured to the region was John D. Rockefeller. He was no wildcatter. He saw
that drilling for oil was a very risky business. Refining, not drilling, he decided, was where
the steady money was to be made. Soon, a new rail line linked Cleveland with the oil region.
Rockefeller built his refinery right beside it. It was one of the first in the city to
produce kerosene, the new fuel for lamps that was cheap and clean. "The poor man's light,"
as John D. called it, would bring a brilliant glow into American homes. The soaring demand
for it, he was convinced, would make him rich. "I shall never forget how hungry I was in
those days," he later wrote. "I ran up and down the tops of freight cars ... I hurried
up the boys." Obsessed with the business of oil, he mastered every detail, developed new
products to sell. By age twenty-five, his refinery was one of the largest in the world.
In a move that would transform the American economy, Rockefeller set out to replace a
world of independent oilmen with a giant company controlled by him. In l870, begging bankers
for more loans, he formed Standard Oil of Ohio.
He had always been a generous man, but at the same time loath to waste a penny.
Rockefeller led his children through the winding roads at Forest Hill, revealing a boyish excitement
that few outsiders ever saw. He loved to play games, electrifying the children with daring
feints, sudden thrusts, and unexpected wheeling turns -- followed by whoops of delight when
he won. Junior recalled, "Father never told us what not to do. He was one with us." Although
Rockefeller was a merry companion for his children, he and Laura kept them cut off from
the outside world. "We went rarely, practically not at all, to neighbors' houses," John Jr.
remembered. "We had no childhood friends. No school friends."
On May 15th, l911, the Supreme Court of the United States declared that Standard Oil was
a monopoly in restraint of trade and should be dissolved.
As Rockefeller foresaw, the individual Standard Oil companies were worth more than the single
corporation. In the next few years, their shares doubled and tripled in value. By the
time the rain of cash was over, Rockefeller had the greatest personal fortune in history
-- nearly two percent of the American economy. Rockefeller's lucky streak was not over yet.
Just as the electric light bulb threatened to wipe out the need for kerosene, the automobile
appeared. The market for gasoline sparked euphoria in the oil industry. Rockefeller's
soaring fortunes made it seem as if he had outwitted his critics again.
Some thought John D. Rockefeller was the president of the United States.
By the early nineteen twenties, Senior had turned over half a billion dollars in assets
and securities to his son. And with it a heavy responsibility: The stewardship of the great
fortune. "I am indeed blessed beyond measure to have
a son whom I can trust to do this most important work.
John D. Rockefeller, now in his mid-eighties, settled into his retirement.
In his old age, Senior showed the world a side of himself only those who knew him best
had ever glimpsed, as the former recluse played up to the movie cameras.
Through the magic of public relations, John D. Rockefeller Senior was transformed from
a reviled robber baron into a genial old man, famous for dispensing dimes.
"...No man in America ... lived up to his ideals more than John D. Rockefeller Jr.,"
said Ida Tarbell, the journalist whose expose of Standard Oil had tarnished the Rockefeller
name. ". "I know of no father that has given better
guidance to his son than has John D. Rockefeller." In his vigorous old age, John D. Rockefeller
spoke often of reaching a hundred years. He died on March 23, 1937 at his winter home
in Ormond Beach, just two years short of his goal. To the end of his days the king of Standard
Oil, long vilified as "monstrous, evil, cruel" believed that he was at peace with God.
I've carried this verse in my purse for so long I can't remember. It's a quote from my
grandfather: "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 drop the
worry on the way. And God was good to me every day."