John D. Rockefeller Businessperson
- Gender: Male
- Citizenship: United States
- Born: Jul 8, 1839
- Died: May 23, 1937
John Davison Rockefeller, Sr. was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He was a co-founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry, and along with other key contemporary industrialists such as Andrew Carnegie, defined the structure of modern philanthropy. In 1870, he co-founded Standard Oil Company and actively ran it until he officially retired in 1897.
Rockefeller founded Standard Oil as an Ohio partnership with his brother William along with Henry Flagler, Jabez A. Bostwick, chemist Samuel Andrews, and a silent partner, Stephen V. Harkness. As kerosene and gasoline grew in importance, Rockefeller's wealth soared and he became the world's richest man and the first American worth more than a billion dollars, controlling 90% of all oil in the United States at his peak. Adjusting for inflation, his fortune upon his death in 1937 stood at $336 billion, accounting for more than 1.5% of the national economy, making him the richest person in history.
Singleness of purpose is one of the chief essentials for success in life, no matter what may be one's aim.
success & wisdom
A friendship founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship.
business & friendship
Do you know the only thing that gives me pleasure? It's to see my dividends coming in.
finance
The way to make money is to buy when blood is running in the streets.
finance & money
Good leadership consists of showing average people how to do the work of superior people.
being good, leadership & work
Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.
being good, greatness & leadership
I have ways of making money that you know nothing of.
money
If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.
motivation, success & travel
Good management consists in showing average people how to do the work of superior people.
work
After it is all over, the religion of man is his most important possession.
religion