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How Did Rockefeller Become Robber Barons During The Gilded Age

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America’s Gilded Age was a period of sudden economic growth and it concentrated mainly on industrialization, it lasted from 1870-1890s. The Gilded Age was when immense wealth was accumulated by a few people, such as Andrew Carnegie who dominated the steel industry and John D. Rockefeller who dominated the oil industry. These two industrial leaders were known as “robber barons” especially Rockefeller because he drove out smaller businesses and he bought out all of his oil company competitions, this type of business method he undertook is known as horizontal expansion. Carnegie on the other took a different approach, he established a steel company that was “vertically integrated, meaning he controlled more than one stage of the supply chain.
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The industrialist leaders were robber barons throughout the Gilded Age. The Gilded Age was a term coined by Mark Twain to label an era defined for its corporate and political greed and corruption; furthermore, monopolies created by industrial leaders grew to prosperity. For instance, John D. Rockefeller was an American businessman who dabbled in the oil industry. Rockefeller practiced horizontal integration where he would ally with, buy out, or undermine competitors to monopolize his business. This allowed him to acquire the vast majority of the oil industry thus empowering Rockefeller to control the latter by forcing his competitors into bankruptcy.

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Was John D. Rockefeller a robber baron? I’d say so. Through ruthless business tactics and exploitation of workers, he made a fortune in his lifetime. In this paper, I’m going to be talking about said business tactics and exploitation. If you believe Rockefeller was just a good business man who donated to the poor, I hope your view will be changed by the end.

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Many Americans came to idealize these businessmen such as Rockefeller, Morgan, Gould, and Ford just to name a few. They were aggressive competitors and was out for personal financial success and power in the oil, banking, and railroad industries. Some of these big shots were honest regarding their business transaction as others took their power to bribe and pull fast ones over on people to maintain their wealth and power. The good and the bad had a lot of influence over government. (usa) “Gilded Age” also suggests a fascination with gold itself and with the wealth and power that gold symbolizes.”

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