The “Men Who Built America” took many risks with big rewards to make the country successful as it is today. With all the railroads being built and all the oil being produced, some individuals took advantage of the opportunities. Some of these driven businessmen were Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller. Andrew Carnegie was a major philanthropist and an American industrialist who generated a prosperity in the steel industry. In search of better economic opportunities, the Carnegie family moved to Allegheny City (Pittsburgh). He stopped going to school when he arrived in America and earned $1.20 a week as a bobbin boy in a cotton factory.As an ambitious and hard-working young man, some of his jobs he held included being a …show more content…
Rockefeller was industrious even as kid. He would raise turkeys, sell candy, and would do small jobs for neighbors. A Cleveland commissions firm that purchased, sold, and shipped grain, coal, and other commodities took Rockefeller into their business when he was 16. With an annual celebration, he called September 26 at “job day,” even as an adult. Rockefeller, and a partner, established their own commissions firm. By investing in a Cleveland refinery, Rockefeller and several partners entered in the booming oil industry. To take control of the refinery, which had become the largest in Cleveland, Rockefeller borrowed money to buy out some of his partners. He expanded his business in the growing oil industry by securing new partners. Rockefeller later formed the Standard Oil Company of Ohio, along with his younger brother, because kerosene was becoming an economic staple. Rockefeller was his company's president, and its main provider. By buying rival refineries and developing companies for distributing and marketing its product around the globe, standard oil gained a monopoly in the oil industry. The Standard Oil Trust combined the companies and would give Standard Oil control of %90 of its pipelines. To buying their own barrels and hiring scientists to figure out new uses for petroleum byproducts, Standard Oil did everything to stunt economies of scale. The first federal legislation prohibiting trusts and combinations that restrained trade was the Sherman Antitrust Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 1890. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Standard Oil was in violation of antitrust laws and forced it to dismantle into 30 different companies. Near the end of his life, Rockefeller became a philanthropist and gave away the bulk of his money. He donated half a billion dollars to various educational, religious, and scientific causes. He also funded the establishment of the University of Chicago, and the Rockefeller Institute for medical