John Davison Rockefeller American millionaire, founded Standard Oil Company Date of Birth: 08.07.1839 Country: USA

Biography of John Davidson Rockefeller

John Davidson Rockefeller was an American millionaire and the founder of Standard Oil Company. He was born in 1839 on a farm in Richford, New York. Rockefeller was known for his hard work, determination, and religious beliefs, which earned him the nickname "the devil" from his partners.

In 1853, Rockefeller's family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he started working as a clerk for a real estate and shipping firm called Hewitt & Tuttle. Due to his mathematical abilities, he quickly rose to the position of accountant. However, this was his first and last job as an employee.

At the age of 18, Rockefeller became a junior partner in the merchant firm, Clark & Rockefeller, which traded hay, grain, meat, and other goods. In 1863, Rockefeller and his partners built their first oil refinery near Cleveland. It was during this time that he married Laura Celestia Spelman, a religious and practical-minded teacher whom he had met while still a student. Rockefeller once remarked, "Without her advice, I would have remained a pauper."

In 1870, Rockefeller created Standard Oil. Alongside his friend and business partner, Henry Flagler, he consolidated various oil production and refining companies into a powerful oil trust. Competitors were given a choice: either merge with him or face bankruptcy.

Through behind-the-scenes manipulations and political bribes, Rockefeller and his partners brought almost all major oil companies under the umbrella of Standard Oil, controlling 95% of America's oil production. In 1890, the Sherman Antitrust Act was passed to combat monopolies. Although Rockefeller and his partners managed to evade the law until 1911, Standard Oil was eventually divided into thirty-four companies, most of which are now major American oil producers.

Rockefeller's name became synonymous with wealth, and he owned properties in Cleveland, New York, Florida, and Maine, along with a golf course in New Jersey. Among his various estates, he particularly cherished his villa, Pocantico Hills, near New York City.

Despite his reputation as a generous individual, Rockefeller remained ruthless and frugal. He outlived the era of the Standard Oil controversy and, by the time of his death at the age of 98, he was better known as a philanthropist than a cunning and cruel businessman.

Towards the end of his life, Rockefeller donated half a billion dollars and his only son, John D. Rockefeller Jr., inherited $460 million. Like his father, John Jr. spent nearly half a billion dollars on philanthropy, funded the construction of the Rockefeller Center for the telecommunications industry in New York, and donated $9 million for the construction of the United Nations building.

The Rockefeller Foundation awarded a scholarship to cultural theorist Leo Strauss in 1932. Five of John D. Rockefeller Sr.'s grandchildren continued the family tradition of philanthropy and political involvement. The most famous among them was Nelson Rockefeller, who served as the Vice President of the United States from 1974 to 1977. David Rockefeller, the youngest son of John D. Rockefeller Jr., served as the head of Chase Manhattan Bank from 1969 to 1980.