Bill Gates And John D. Rockefeller

The purpose of this essay is to compare a modern day industrialist to an industrialist from the gilded age. Both Bill Gates and John D. Rockefeller are famous for being hugely successful entrepreneurs who changed their particular industries. Rockefeller is known as one of the richest people in history, he is well-known for his work in the oil industry, and Gates is best known for co-founding Microsoft and starting the personal computer era. Microsoft is a corporation that produces operating systems and computer hardware that Gates created with his partner Paul Allen. John D. Rockefeller became the world’s first billionaire after founding his company Standard Oil in 1863. He had eliminated almost all of the competition by the 1880s and Standard

Rockefeller are recognized for their large charitable donations. Both men created significant philanthropic organizations that concentrate on the improvement of healthcare, education, and other issues within society. They have also both donated billions of dollars to a variety of global causes and organizations. Bill Gates created the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that focuses on global health, medical research, education, agriculture, and more. The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation has worked to fight poverty and give people in poor countries better medical care and vaccinations (gatesfoundation.org). He has also donated over 50 billion dollars to charity since 1994 (Fortune.com). John D. Rockefeller donated 540 million dollars to charity in his lifetime but the Rockefeller foundation continues to use their wealth for philanthropic purposes (philanthropyroundtable.com). Like Bill Gates, Rockefeller also used a portion of his money to support medical research, In fact, he founded the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in 1901 (philanthropyroundtable.com). They both also spent money trying to improve education. John D. Rockefeller established The General Education Board, which was responsible for supporting schools across the nation. The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation has donated billions of dollars to public schools to better the American education system. What makes their philanthropic efforts similar is their focus on finding solutions to issues in society that will not only be short term relief but last a long time. They both believe that they should use their wealth to change the world and make a positive