To become the wealthiest man in the U. S. is no easy task. Being the richest man in the world at any point in time would be even more impressive; but to become the wealthiest person to have ever lived is nearly an incomprehensible thought. The man able to hold this title is none other than John Davison Rockefeller. But how did he do it? Rockefeller’s career was immensely successful, but to what measures did he take to become the industrial power that he was? Many of John Rockefeller’s methods of becoming a world power were unconventional. However they worked. The extreme ways by which Rockefeller conducted business were essential to his massive success. Had he acted as a regular businessman, he would not have succeeded nearly as much as he …show more content…
This company came to completely dominate the oil industry, and became the very first trust in the United States. Rockefeller began his oil career by working in refining. After a couple years in the business, in 1870, Rockefeller and a few partners founded Standard Oil in Ohio. Standard Oil began as a company that could rapidly produced kerosene. This was a very popular oil used for lighting. Standard Oil quickly began to acquire every refinery in their area. In 1872, the company was able to buy most refineries in their area, as well as a couple in New York. Standard Oil became so large that they were able to cut out every middle man. They were able to own a company that made barrels for them to hold their oil in. Every dollar Standard Oil spent on production stayed with Standard Oil. Rockefeller based his business method on consolidation, instead of on competition, which is how most businesses based their business model. As the business grew, the started to produce other goods, such as paints and glue. When standard oil became a trust, their initial capital was $70 million. An eventual lawsuit in Ohio forced the Standard Oil Trust into several smaller companies. At the time of dissolution in 1892, Standard Oil was estimated to own “three-fourths of the petroleum business in the U. S.” (Rockefeller Foundation 1967). At this time, Rockefeller stepped down from his position at Standard, and was worth hundreds of thousands of …show more content…
This realization led me to the conclusion that, while most workers were mistreated during industrialism, Rockefeller wasn’t treating his workers especially horrid, comparable to other businessmen. However, after seeing the large wealth Rockefeller earned, many people felt he could have maybe spared a little more money for his workers, and sacrificed a small sum compared to what he was worth. Rockefeller, while not being ruthless to his employees, was a hard hitter to competitor businesses. He was completely ruthless in his relations with other oil companies. He would not hesitate to make many businesses close their doors for good. Without this brutality, Rockefeller would not have nearly as large of a clientele as he did. In order for Rockefeller to dominate the oil industry, Rockefeller needed to have the lowest prices. Once Rockefeller owned the industry, he had no incentive to sell for low prices anymore. When he was dominating the Oil industry, he was able to give Standard Oil the absolute lowest operating cost. After being the largest player in the game, he was able to make prices much higher. Rockefeller knew this would yield more money for him, and would help him to keep becoming more and more wealthy. The consolidation and consumption of the markets by Rockefeller were essential to him becoming as wealthy as he was. If he did not control as much of
The Gilded Age refers to a period in which things were fraudulent and deceitful; the surface was clinquant while underneath that lustrous coat laid corruption. During the Gilded Age companies recruited to corrupt methods to further increase profits, leading to an increase in power, rapid economic prosperity, and domination of industries, leading to monopolistic corporations. As a result, antitrust laws to regulate business began to emerge in the late 19th and early 20th century known as the Progressive Era. Among these companies was Standard Oil, which was founded in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller; in 1880, Standard Oil was responsible for refining 90 percent of America’s oil and between 1880-1910, dominating the oil industry (Marshall). The lack of intervention from the government and regulations impeding monopolistic practices allowed Standard Oil to
Matthew Josephson agreed that Rockefeller was indeed a "robber baron". In the book Taking Sides, he claims that Rockefeller was a deceptive and conspiratorial businessman, whose fortune was built by secret agreements and wrung concessions from America's leading railroad companies (Taking Sides 25). When John D. Rockefeller merged with the railroad companies, he had gained control of a strategic transportation route that no other companies would be able to use. Rockefeller would then be able to force the hand on the railroads and was granted a rebate on his shipments of oil. This was a kind of secret agreement between the two industries.
Tarbell had always accused the leader of the Standard Oil Company, John D. Rockefeller, of putting her father and many other small oil companies out of business by the use of his ruthless tactics. ...
Many people consider Rockefeller a robber of industry because of his forcible ways of gaining his monopolies. Rockefeller was fond of buying out small and large competitors. If the competitors refused to sell they often found Rockefeller cutting the prices of his Standard Oil or in the worst cases, their factories mysteriously blowing up. Rockefeller was obsessed with controlling the oil market and used many of undesirable tactics to flush his competitors out of the market. Rockefeller was also a master of the rebate game. He was one of the most dominant controllers of the railroads. He was so good at the rebate that at some times he skillfully commanded the rail road to pay rebates to his standard oil company on the traffic of other competitors. He was able to do this because his oil traffic was so high that he could make or break a section of a railroad a railroad company by simply not running...
Let us first look at Mr. Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie was a mogul in the steel industry. Carnegie developed a system known as the vertical integration. This method basically cut out the ‘middle man’. Carnegie bought his own iron and coal mines (which were necessities in producing steel) because purchasing these materials from independent companies cost too much and was insufficient for Carnegie’s empire. This hurt his competitors because they still had to pay for raw materials at much higher prices. Unlike Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller integrated his oil business from top to bottom. Rockefeller’s system was considered a ‘horizontal’ integration. This meant that he followed one product through all phases of the production process, i.e. Rockefeller had control over the oil from the moment it was drilled to the moment it was sold to the consu...
Businessmen of the Gilded Age like Carnegie, Rockefeller, Morgan, and Vanderbilt were captains of industry. Industrialists economically improved the United States by contributing the most money, which was made from the successes of their companies. In addition, they were financially beneficial to communities and set an example of philanthropy and lifestyle for others to follow. Moreover, they resorted to unscrupulous tactics not only for their financial gain, but for America’s financial gain as well.
Rockefeller was the founder of the Standard Oil Company who utilized horizontal integration to dominate the oil industry; Rockefeller was another capitalist considered to be a “robber baron” of industrial America between the time period of 1865 and 1909 who acquired a great amount of wealth. This money was acquired with the usage of cutthroat tactics that disadvantaged his competitors immensely; Rockefeller did anything to increase his own wealth. He ran competitors out of business, lowered his prices drastically in places where competition was rough, and even threatened companies into bankruptcy, such as Ida Tarbell’s father’s business. Rockefeller believed that industrial combinations were a necessity and firmly believed in them being of benefit to the public (Doc. 6). James B. Weaver, a Populist presidential candidate, however, {disproves} this alleged belief that trusts were for the benefit of the public {theory} in his book A Call to Action by stating that trusts are the product of “threats, intimidation, bribery, fraud, wreck, and pillage” (Doc. 3). He further discredits trusts by providing an example of how the Oat Meal Trust in 1887 proved to be extremely unfortunate for and to the disadvantage of the laborers at the mills who lost their jobs (Doc. 3). This shows that the trusts that Rockefeller thrived on and made Rockefeller wealthier, though advantageous for consumers and Rockefeller himself, could often be to the disadvantage of the laborers. Rockefeller
However, the reason Rockefeller controlled 90% is because of a company that basically appeared from nowhere and had some actual competition for Standard Oil and actually surprised Rockefeller. The company was known as the Tidewater Pipe-line Company, it started by building a pipeline from north Pennsylvania to Williamsport. Rockefeller tried to acquire the company but in the end it ended up as Standard only competition with Tidewater controlling 10% of the oil refining market. This was however of not a large concern to Standard as they were developing products besides oil from Vaseline to candy.
...interpretations of their assumption of millions of dollars. Due to their appropriation of godlike fortunes, and numerous contributions to American society, they simultaneously displayed qualities of both aforementioned labels. Therefore, whether it be Vanderbilt’s greed, Rockefeller’s philanthropy, or Carnegie’s social Darwinist world view, such men were, quite unarguably, concurrently forces of immense good and evil: building up the modern American economy, through monopolistic trusts and exploitative measures, all the while developing unprecedented affluence. Simply, the captains of late 19th century industry were neither wholly “robber barons” or “industrial statesmen”, but rather both, as they proved to be indifferent to their “lesser man” in their quests for profit, while also helping to organize industry and ultimately, greatly improve modern American society.
After Rockefeller saw the potential in the oil business, he formed his own company, The Standard Oil Company in 1870. In 1877, Standard Oil Company bought out Colombia conduit Co. which gained them control of lots of pipelines and refineries. (Poole 14) By 1879, Standard Oil Company owned 90% of the oil refineries in the United States. (Poole 14) Every company he bought out, showed the power that had become of him. Rockefeller’s wits bring him to inspire a many of people From 1891-1892 Rockefeller had a partial nervous breakdown from overwork and lost all his hair, suffering from ill health in the early 1890’s. (Poole 15) Rockefeller’s wealth increased and became a problem because he didn’t know what to do with all the money. (Poole 15) Rockefeller had so much money, when he got old, beyond ability to run
...ichest men in the world, monopolizing the oil industry, which played an important role in shaping the economy. In today’s oil business Rockefeller’s effect can still be seem in business strategies, values, and competitive logic. The oil business is now structured and very competitive. It also plays many important roles in the economy.
People like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J.P. Morgan are men who possessed the intellect, the foresight, and most importantly the work ethic to become powerful industrialists. These men displayed their work ethic to the country by being ruthless and tireless. They started something so important that a hundred years later it is still making a huge contribution to our country (Maury Klein pg. 32). What they started was the industrial revolution. Today our country is the most powerful in the world because of our great wealth.
During John D. Rockefeller’s financial career in The Gilded Age, he used many cutthroat practices to ensure that local competitors would not challenge and he would have control over the market of oil with his Standard Oil Company. In order to make sure he controlled the oil market, he used what was known as horizontal integration. This name became the label for the process of eliminating any potential competition from the market that one wishes to succeed in. In order to establish a virtual monopoly over the oil market, Rockefeller used clever strategies to do so. John Rockefeller used “his firm's superi...
Throughout the course of U.S history, there have been various challenges amongst groups for dominance of state policy. In the late 19th century, and early 20th century, the Big Business people (Corporations), and the Industrial workers competed for power. This time in history was very revealing to the fact that workers weren’t treated fairly, and business magnates were simply focused on making money. These business magnates went on to control almost every aspect of business and as a result impacted and molded American life, and government decisions.
John D. Rockefeller, born on July 8, 1839, has had a huge impact on the course of American history, his reputation spanning from being a ruthless businessperson to a thoughtful philanthropist (Tarbell 41). He came from a family with not much and lived the American dream, rising to success through his own wit and cunning, riding on the backs of none. His legacy is huge, amassing the greatest private wealth of any American in history. Rockefeller’s influence on our country has been both a positive and a negative one, he donated huge sums of money to various public institutions and revolutionized the petroleum industry. Along with all the positives to the country, Rockefeller also had many negative affects as well, including, by gaining his riches by means of a monopoly, often using illegal methods, by giving others a reason to frown upon capitalism, and by hurting smaller businesses.