John Rockefeller: the story of the first dollar billionaire

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

John Rockefeller, the first dollar billionaire, was born into a poor family: his father got married largely only because the dowry was given $ 500.

Heredity

It's hard to imagine, but John Rockefeller, the first dollar billionaire, was born into a rather poor family. His father, William Rockefeller, married John's mother largely only because Eliza's father gave $ 500 to the dowry.

John's father first chose the profession of a lumberjack, but he quickly got bored with it. It was then that the gambling nature of John's father manifested itself: not wanting to receive pennies for hard physical labor, William Rockefeller gave out multi-colored glass for emeralds, sold miraculous elixirs, in an incomprehensible way took first prizes in shooting competitions. So the father of the first billionaire managed to stay afloat. Many neighbors even thought that John's father was a simple bandit who earned money by robbery and robbery.

The life philosophy of John Rockefeller's father influenced his son in many ways. He often bargained with me and bought various services from me. “He taught me how to buy and sell. My father just trained me to get rich!”- John Rockefeller will write later.

Hungry childhood

The father's hobby for all sorts of speculations, of course, brought money, but the family every now and then had to save on essentials. So John started working from a very young age: at the age of seven, he was fattening turkeys to sell to neighbors, and digging potatoes for farmers for a small fee.

His commercial tendencies emerged when he brought home a handful of purchased chocolates, laid them out one by one, and began to sell to his sisters at a premium.

The first book is accounting

The first independent acquisition that John allowed himself to make with his honestly earned money was a ledger, in which he accurately entered his earnings and expenses.

By the age of thirteen, John had saved $ 50 in his porcelain pig, which he used to loan a neighboring farmer at seven and a half percent per annum. By the way, John tremblingly kept this booklet until the end of his days, believing that he owes much of his commercial success to her.

Three month courses, not college

Like many greats, John Rockefeller was skeptical about getting higher education, which, in his opinion, only prevented him from making big money. After dropping out of Cleveland College, John enrolled in a three-month accounting course. These courses, coupled with John's unquenchable thirst for action, have helped the aspiring entrepreneur make millions and start huge corporations.

Work, first and last

In the biography of John Rockefeller, there is only one job: while still very young, he entered the service of an assistant accountant in a small company. Having shown professionalism and showing a genuine interest in his profession, he quickly began to climb the career ladder.

However, John left his job, having already risen to the rank of manager, exactly at the moment when he suspected that his salary was significantly lower than that of his predecessors in similar positions. John Rockefeller was not one to use and pay little money.

Standard oil

John D. Rockefeller established his oil production and refining company in 1870. Together with their partner, they began to systematically buy up other small companies, turning their business into a powerful trust. Having seized power in the oil market, John Rockefeller began to act like a real economic tyrant: companies that did not want to be part of his Standard Oil, he forced local competitors to work at a loss with the help of dumping mechanisms, and he could deprive unwanted oil refiners of raw materials by buying it fully.

Rockefeller's activities became illegal only after 1879, when antitrust law came into force. It was then that "Standard Oil" had to disintegrate into many smaller companies, each of which, however, remained under the leadership of Rockefeller. From these fragments of the Rockefeller empire later grew the American oil giants, which continue to work to this day.

Family model of the economy

One of Rockefeller's goals was to raise their own children in a commercial relationship. He believed that in this way he would instill in children a love for work and a respectful attitude towards the wealth awaiting them. The family established rules according to which each child received a couple of cents for cleaning a pencil or diligently practicing music, the same reward was paid for catching a fly or abstaining from sweets for the day. However, there were also monetary fines: financial penalties were usually imposed on those who were late for family dinner.

We must pay tribute, such an upbringing system has borne some fruit - the new head of the dynasty, John Rockefeller Jr., also became a successful businessman who knew how to benefit from any events.