John Davison Rockefeller was an astute, precise and methodical businessman. He brought a revolution to the oil industry and would become one of the wealthiest men in history. Rockefeller founded Standard Oil Company near Cleveland in 1870 and boldly ran it until he had nearly a monopoly on the oil industry in the United States. During his business years he was considered one of the most hated men in America because of his ruthless business practices. "Standard Oil literally became the symbol for big business evils. It was an example of big businesses getting way too much power and nothing, or no one, available to restrain them.” However, once retired in 1897 he paved the way for modern philanthropy. Rockefeller gave away over $540 million dollars, which would be more than $5 billion in today’s money. Rockefeller’s life spanned 98 years, “he lived to see Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, watch the rise of the Nazi party in …show more content…
Rockefeller had five other siblings; he was the second child and the eldest boy in the family. The family lived in modest circumstances; his father, William Avery Rockefeller was initially a lumberjack but than became a traveling “doctor” who sold fake elixirs to cure ailments. William Rockefeller taught John much of what he knew as a businessman, especially that “sentiment should not influence business transactions.” However, his father was rarely around as he spent most of his time on the road attempting to con people into buying his products. His mother, Eliza Davison was a “somber, religious woman,” who emphasized manners, church attendance and a strong work ethic. This combination of wily and serious parenting grew Rockefeller into a well-mannered, earnest, religious, methodical and cunning child. He was an incredible debater and grew up dreaming of becoming a musician, but because of his proficiency in numbers and attention to detail was pushed into the realm of