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Oct 10, 2024 · The company’s origins date to 1863, when Rockefeller joined Maurice B. Clark and Samuel Andrews in a Cleveland, Ohio, oil-refining business. In 1865 Rockefeller bought out Clark, and two years later he invited Henry M. Flaglerto join as a partner in the venture. By 1870 the firm of Rockefeller, Andrews, and Flagler was operating the largest ...
The 26-year-old Rockefeller won, for a price of $72,500 (the equivalent today of about $820,000). Clark thought he had gotten a bargain—but given what Rockefeller was to accomplish in the next ...
In 1863, John D. Rockefeller encouraged fellow business partner, M. B. Clark to agree to a decision which would eventually lead to the creation of the multimillion dollar company Standard Oil. The duo financed and joined with chemist Samuel Andrews in starting the oil refining business Andrews, Clark, and Co. Two years later, Rockefeller and Andrews bought out Clark's interest and became ...
[citation needed] In February 1865, in what was later described by oil industry historian Daniel Yergin as a "critical" action, Rockefeller bought out the Clark brothers for $72,500 (equivalent to $1 million [39] in 2023 dollars) at auction and established the firm of Rockefeller & Andrews. Rockefeller said, "It was the day that determined my career."
- Early Life and Education
- Notable Accomplishments
- Wealth and Philanthropy
- Legacy
- The Bottom Line
Rockefeller’s father, William Avery Rockefeller, led a nomadic life as a snake-oil salesman who called himself a physician, while his mother raised their six children. After his family eventually took root in Strongsville, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, Rockefeller dropped out of high school and found work as a commission house clerk at the age of 16...
Strategic focus
In 1870 Rockefeller, Andrews, and Flagler incorporated into Standard Oil, which in a mere two years controlled all the oil refineries in Cleveland. Rockefeller keenly understood ways of managing risk. While he knew oil speculators could potentially reap huge profits if they hit a deposit, he also knew that they faced substantial financial loss if they failed in that effort. For this reason, he strategically narrowed his focus to the refining business, where profits were smaller but more stable.
An innovative trust
In 1881, Standard Oil was placed under the control of a nine-trustee board, with Rockefeller at its head. He and his partners innovated this first-of-its-kind trust, wherein they swapped their individual holdings for shares in the trust. Rockefeller now wielded centralized control and veto power on all of the corporate boards within his conglomerate. The immediate benefits included even lower costs, lower kerosene prices, and standardization across the industry. Rockefeller’s company now had...
Research and development
Standard Oil employed chemists who developed ways of increasing the types and quality of combustible fuels and created methods of converting waste into usable substances. This meant that the petroleum coming out of the ground was refined into various products, such as diesel fuel, varnish, Vaseline, and toothpaste. As these new products became cheaper to produce, the company increased its global economy of scale. Also, through robust research and development, Rockefeller discovered ways to ex...
A devout Baptist, Rockefeller believed that God had blessed him with the ability to make money and saw no contradiction between his ruthless business methods and his faith. Indeed, he thought the division of the world into rich and poor was part of God’s plan. Or, in his own words, “It has seemed as if I was favored and got increase because the Lor...
Certainly one of Rockefeller’s main legacies is federal antitrust legislation, as well as laws strengthening unions. During his lifetime (and after), many people understandably faulted Rockefeller for the radical means through which he cultivated his fortune. Still, his business practices and charities have benefited millions of people. The Rockefe...
Billionaire John D. Rockefeller was both admired and loathed, but there is no getting around the fact of his importance as both the principal founder of the Standard Oil monopoly and a world-class philanthropist. His legacy continues today thanks to the work of the Rockefeller Foundation, as well as ongoing institutions he founded such as the Unive...
Standard Oil is the common name for a corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founded in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller. The trust was born on January 2, 1882, when a group of 41 investors signed the Standard Oil ...
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Jul 22, 2002 · How to reach: The Western Reserve Historical Society, (216) 721-5722; Rockefeller Archive, (914) 366-6308. Jim Vickers (jvickers@sbnnet.com) is an associate editor at SBN. John D. Rockefeller’s rise to power at the helm of Standard Oil Co. in the late 1800s transformed not only the business world, but the face of Cleveland as well.
