John D. Rockefeller

The men in the 19th century discovered the unbelievable properties of an unknown liquid. It turned out that by simple distillation, it could be metamorphosed into a lubricant and lighting oil, superior and much cheaper to those which were known till now. The only known substance which experienced this type of acceleration was gold during the gold rush. Oil was not an exception. The discovery of both of them intrigued the attention of major business tycoons. John D. Rockefeller was one of them. His creation, the Standard Oil, controlled 90% of the refined oil production in the USA in 1900 (“John D Rockefeller and the standard”). He received a good education during his young life span. He acquired his first job as a clerk when he was 16 years …show more content…
In 1865, after the first modern oil well was drilled in Pennsylvania, Rockefeller invested in it and borrowed large amounts of money to expand it. His refinery was producing more than twice as much oil as any other in Cleveland by end of the year, by 1868 it was the largest refinery in the world (“Rockefeller”). It resulted in favorable use of railroad rebates. Since the oil industry started becoming more profitable, it became susceptible to more competition. The cutthroat competition in the oil industry according to him was a bad influence so he began to stamp it out systematically. Now rivals came under his management and also all of his businesses were united into one large company. It helped the companies which were struggling to be in business get a stronger base as they were under him. He still kept the expenses low and decided not to squander anything and to make the efficient use of the by-products. Since the competition began to grow, he modified his refining methods which helped him lower the prices of oil from 58 cents to 8 cents per gallon (“J.D. Rockefeller: From Oil”). The idea of horizontal integration over vertical integration was preferred by Rockefeller which helped him lower the prices drastically (John D. Rockefeller Biography”). An undisclosed alliance of railroads and refiners in 1871 by Rockefeller was formed to …show more content…
D Rockefeller did business and charity with the same vigor, in fact he did the charity with a greater interest than he did the business. After his business got stable, Rockefeller realized the need of education and his interest in charities which benefited him in the ways that allowed him to sponsor to the educational and medical institutions. Education and scientific researches fascinated him, which inflamed his passion for charities. He therefore donated money to many educational centers and colleges. His benefactions totalled $530,853,632. For us in modern times it could mean so much. Rockefeller funded to many educational institutions like the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, school for African American women in 1882. He also established and donated $600,000 to the University of Chicago in 1890 (“Bolton 191-192”). For improving rural education for both whites and blacks, he created the General Education Board in 1902. Rockefeller established the first school of public health and hygiene at the Johns Hopkins University in 1918 and gave $500,000 for endowment to it in 1919 (“John Rockefeller Sr”). The Teachers College Columbia University received the largest gift ever of $1,000,000 in 1920 by Rockefeller. He also performed Medical donations. To propel the study of medicine and hygiene in Chinese medical schools, he established the China Medical Board. His foundations supported the health board which controlled the hookworm disease in fourteen states of America. In