What do we know about the founder of the Rockefeller clan? We've read, of course, how ruthless John Rockefeller was in doing business. According to the established opinion, he was not tough. He was cruel. Tales of competitors' oil rigs blown up have become commonplace. Whether this is true or not, we do not know for certain. But we can say for sure that if John did not blow up oil rigs, he found other, more sophisticated ways to crush those who stood in his way. And yet this image, as it seems real enough, still will not be complete, if not to say about love. And John Rockefeller was in love. And it looks like he was in love all his life. Although he himself may have called his feelings for the woman he loves by some other word.
For a long time …
No, here we are, of course, not talking about the Volga River, here we are talking about John Rockefeller Sr., but the point is that his fabulous riches did not suddenly come out of nowhere. It took John a long time to become the world's first dollar billionaire. Almost from infancy. Evil tongues report that already in early childhood, he bought sweets by weight in the store, in order to then successfully resell them to his own sisters one by one. But in general, he owes the presence of a commercial streak to his father, and his rare ability to save and endure (frankly, everyday stinginess) - to his mother.
Dad and mom
John's father and mother, William and Louise, had six children. John, by the way, was the second. Well, William was an interesting character. Neighbors thought he was weird for avoiding work. But not all work, but hard physical. Having worked a little as a lumberjack, John's father became a kind of trading wanderer. I went from place to place and sold various drugs. I got involved in risky ventures. With all this, he still somehow managed to put together some kind of capital. I bought a piece of land. He prudently invested in various enterprises. And … he bargained with John, buying some services from him, teaching his son to commerce from childhood. Remembering this, Rockefeller later said that his father literally trained him to become wealthy. And what about the mother? And the mother was forced to run the household on her own due to her husband's frequent absences. She stoically endured both the absences themselves and the talk about his adultery. It was thanks to her that John learned early austerity when circumstances required it.
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The guy doesn't miss
However, John himself, apparently, was not a miss. Apparently, his parents not only taught him everything useful in their understanding, but also passed on to him some cunning commercial genes. Well, look … He helped with the housework from an early age. And not only mothers. For example, he helped neighbors dig out potatoes. Not for free. He also raised poultry for sale. I got myself a real ledger and carefully recorded everything in it. I didn’t squander what I earned. I saved up. And already at the age of thirteen he managed to lend a neighbor's farmer fifty dollars at interest - 7.5 per annum. Agree, these are the makings.
Learn smartly
Education was given to John with difficulty. That is, he missed the stars from the sky. But the more valuable are the successes. Through perseverance, patience and great diligence, after graduating from school, he entered Cleveland College, where he taught the basics of commerce and accounting. However, he quickly realized that three months of accounting courses would be enough. And by that time he knew about commerce hardly any worse than the teachers in college. And I must say that John never regretted this decision afterward.
The origins of wealth
Yes, the founder of the Rockefeller clan was right. He briefly worked as an accountant in one of the companies. Then he did not agree with the owners in the level of their wages and … In general, this was the first and last time when John worked "for his uncle." Then he invested his eight hundred and borrowed from his father at interest of one thousand two hundred dollars, became a junior partner in the firm of John Morris "Clark and Rochester". The company was trading. They sold hay, grain and meat. And just the beginning of the civil war. The feds needed supply services for the army. John managed to charm the owner of one of the banks. The firm was given a loan, and it got involved in profitable activities. But this, of course, is not the same. These are just the origins. Oil became the main thing.
I love oil…
John had a flair. When kerosene lamps began to come into fashion in the United States in the middle of the nineteenth century, he smelled something. Most likely future millions. And even at this very time, he met a promising chemist named Samuel Andrews. And at the same time, there was information about the discovery of an oil field. In short, John and Samuel, together with the same owner of Clark and Rochester, found the Andrews & Clark company on a parity basis. And then they set up an oil refinery in Cleveland. And already in 1870 the famous "Standard Oil" was founded. John Rockefeller was thirty-one years old.
Monopolist ancestor
We can talk for a long time about how, thanks to Rockefeller's talents, Standard Oil has taken an almost monopoly position in the US oil market. A variety of schemes were used. For example, at first, John felt that instead of wages, people should be given shares in the company, which should lead to greater returns, since employees will be interested in the prosperity of the company. But this is not the main point. The main thing is that, seeing a weakness in the organization of the oil business in the country, he took advantage of this by buying up small and medium-sized oil companies on the vine. Plus, he agreed with the transport workers. As a result, his oil was transported by rail at ten cents a barrel, at the usual thirty-five cents. And with the difference, he also managed to make a profit. Competitors could not resist him in any way. They had two ways:bankruptcy or merger with Standard Oil. Within ten years, he owned 95 percent of American oil production. And when the fight against monopolies began, John simply split the company into thirty-four small ones that he controlled. Experts say that all major US oil companies are the brainchild of Standard Oil. The methods by which Rockefeller amassed wealth is best described by his nickname: Mephistopheles of Cleveland.
Owner of factories, newspapers, ships
It's true. John Rockefeller owned more than Standard Oil. On his farm were railway and steel companies, shipping companies, real estate companies, even orange groves. But the main thing, of course, is oil and … banks. Nine banks.
Baptist in love
And with all this, John was not alien, as they say, nothing human. First, he was very devout. And from his youth he gave tithes to the church. Baptist Church. By the way, in 1905, this very tithe attracted no less than a hundred million dollars. Secondly, John (don't laugh!) Was a philanthropist.
His efforts, for example, founded the University of Chicago, Rockefeller University, even the UN headquarters settled in New York thanks to his financial injections. It is said that at the end of his life, John donated about five hundred million dollars to philanthropy. But this did not stop him from leaving four hundred and sixty million dollars in inheritance to his son. And yet the main thing in his life was Laura - his wife. And children.
So, she was called Laura …
John met his future wife Laura at school. The girl was from a fairly wealthy family. And she was very devout. In general, it was a miracle how decent. Their relationship consisted of attending church services together, reading and playing music. Among other things, Laura was very practical. The girl believed, for example, that it is possible to start a family only on a solid financial foundation. And in general, as various biographers write, her character was very similar to John's mother. Perhaps this is what played a major role in the fact that he fell in love and did everything in his power to provide the very financial basis that was required to create a family.
Family fortress
Again, as with choosing three-month accounting courses instead of college, John was right. This time in family life. For Laura, family and church were the main things, John added business to this. Both he and she loved children very much and took care of them as they should. Rockefeller doted on his wife. And he said more than once that if it were not for her with her strict life guidelines, he would never have become so rich. And he was incredibly rich. Forbes magazine in 2007 recalculated Rockefeller's fortune to its modern equivalent. And it turned out that John amassed three hundred and eighteen billion. And still the main thing was the family. A wife and four children. Three girls and a boy. John and Laura have lived together for over half a century. In the end, she was seriously ill. And John, who left business, did not leave her bed.
He survived her by twenty-two years and died in 1937, two years before his own centenary.
Mark Raven
