Note: Over a year ago, I completed the 832- page biography of John Rockefeller.  It took me two attempts over the course of an entire year to finish, but I’m very glad I did as it was quite rewarding and I learned alot. In this blogpost, I’ll attempt to explain some of the details of his life and how it pertains to success in business.

Book Review: “Titan: The Life of John Rockefeller”

Perhaps you have heard of John Rockefeller. There is a gigantic high-rise and plaza named after him in the center of Manhattan. The company he founded, Standard Oil, went on to birth some of the largest, most powerful energy companies in the world, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, and Saudi Aramco.

He is known as one of the 4 industrialists who built America after the Civil War (alongside Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and Jay Gould). On a less positive note, people who talk about conspiracies will often bring up his name, as if his descendants still run the world behind closed doors (via organizations like the Council for Foreign Relations). Some people say he was evil, others say he was good. Or was he a mix of both? To understand Rockefeller, it is important to understand his origins. He is known as one of the 4 industrialists who built America after the Civil War (alongside Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and Jay Gould). On a less positive note, people who talk about conspiracies will often bring up his name, as if his descendants still run the world behind closed doors (via organizations like the Council for Foreign Relations). Some people say he was evil, others say he was good. Or was he a mix of both? To understand Rockefeller, it is important to understand his origins. 

The Orphan Heart

John Rockefeller was born in 1839, and grew up on a farm in the woods of Ohio,alongside his mother and 5 siblings. His father was William Rockefeller, aka“Wild Bill” or “Devil Bill”, a self-made, uneducated frontier medical elixir salesman with a flair for flashiness and a love of money. “Wild Bill” would often disappear for months or years at a time, presumably selling his mysterious medical concoctions to unsuspecting families on the frontier, leaving John and his mother to fend for their own in the wilderness. While living with the family, Wild Bill had an affair with the house servant, which hurt young John very much. Perhaps not wanting to be like his huckster, philandering, absentee father, John vowed instead to live a better life, and like his devout Baptist mother, attended church every Sunday as a serious Christian. He also studied hard in grade school, focusing on accounting and business law. However, sins of the fathers can still get passed to the following generation, and perhaps due to his father’s absenteeism, John developed a desire for control and stability at all costs. Perhaps known as ‘orphan heart,’ this mindset would heavily influence his actions and behavior later on in life. 

Right Place at the Right Time

Following the end of the Civil War in 1865, American economic development began to accelerate, especially in the North. With newfound peace and the preservation of the American Union, vast territories were up for grabs, with many scrambling to take control of the frontier and the treasures contained within. In those times, bribery of politicians and bending of rules was common. And yet, this environment would be well-suited for young Rockefeller, for in such an unstable and blossoming environment, his tactics could flourish.

In 1859, oil was struck in western Pennsylvania, triggering a rush to the region as it marked the start of oil as a major industry. Used to provide heating and light to households, this revolutionary discovery would enable America’s transition from an agricultural nation to becoming the most powerful industrial society in the world. That same year, with some partners, Rockefeller started his first ever business, dealing in grain, hay, and meats.

Yet kerosene seemed to have far more growth potential than these other commodities, and in 1863, at the age of 24, Rockefeller and his partners established a refinery in Cleveland, close to the Western Pennsylvania oilfields. Within just two years, due to Rockefeller’s long-term vision into the nature of the industry, they managed to make this refinery into the largest in the region.

In 1870, Rockefeller established the Standard Oil Company of Ohio, with ambitions to consolidate the refining industry under its control. At the time, with more than 250 competitors, petroleum refining was still highly decentralized, and no one really knew how much oil was left in the ground. Believing that this industry would grow much larger than it currently was, Rockefeller used a variety of cutthroat techniques to acquire or destroy competitors, including secretly accepting rebates (aka bribery), rigging markets (via collusion with politicians), spying on competitors, setting up bogus subsidiaries, and engaging in predatory pricing to undercut competition. In later years, his own company was involved in a shootout and murder of striking coal workers on a coalmine owned by a subsidiary of Standard Oil. This incident, known as the Ludlow Massacre, was roundly criticized by the media, with the blame put on Rockefeller.

These activities helped Standard Oil to create a monopoly in each industry it engaged in, which enabled the Trust to maximize its profits and eliminate competition. By 1878, Rockefeller had attained control of nearly 90 percent of the oil refined in the U.S. After dominating the refining industry, Standard Oil moved on to own and control other elements up and down the entire oil supply chain, including the national pipeline system, railroad tank cars, terminal facilities, barrel manufacturing factories, end-user lanterns, and oil assets themselves.  Truly, Rockefeller believed his company was a gift from God to clean up the oil industry and share the gift of oil with the pre-industrial world.

By the end of the 19^th century, Rockefeller had created the largest business empire in the world. Due to its success, the Standard Oil model of vertical dominance was emulated in over 200 industries by its peers, including the railroad, coal, steel, sugar, and tobacco industries. By this point, the concept of the mega-trust had become a major story for the print media, which not only helped to create widespread awareness of the effects of industrial consolidation, but also the vicious techniques used to enable it. This awareness led to widespread disgust from the public and earned Rockefeller a wide swath of enemies, including Ida Tarbell, a well-known crusading journalist. Because of the actions of Standard Oil and its imitators, President Theodore Roosevelt enacted the Sherman Anti-trust Act to break up trusts, and Standard Oil was slapped with the largest antitrust suit of its day. In 1892, Standard Oil was declared to be an illegal monopoly. But not until 1911 was it finally forced to dissolve into several smaller companies, many of whom are the forefathers of the energy companies we know today.

Standard Oil shook the American public’s belief that capitalism and free markets can exist without intervention. Rather, unfettered capitalism can lead to a very un-free market and unhealthy levels of competition. Therefore, benevolent government intervention can sometimes be required.

After the dissolution of Standard Oil, Rockefeller committed his life to charity. By the end of his life, he had given away most of his wealth ($530 Million), leaving himself an estate of just $26.4 million. With his donations, he founded the University of Chicago, Spellman College (now one of the most highly regarded institutions for black women in America), and supported the Baptist church in America. He also put up the money to preserve the majestic California Redwoods (the tallest trees in the world) as well as Yosemite and Grand Teton National Parks. 

Like many Baptists of his era, he was interested in China. His foundation set up the China Medical Board, which constructed the Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) in 1921. PUMC is now considered to be the best medical school in China. 

Rockefeller was very loyal and loving to his wife, Cettie, until her passing.   Nonetheless, the all-out pursuit of wealth during his early years created pain for him as he aged. Despite having several grandchildren, by the end of his life, Rockefeller is described as having “ few, if any, real friends and was isolated by his wealth.” Of his family, it appears he was somewhat alienated from them: 

“Though free of self-pity, Rockefeller often seemed forlorn in the 1930s. Too proud to plead for visits from descendants, he dropped hints and tactful suggestions that he would like to see them more, but this did not seem to work. He craved some human warmth that he never fully got from his own family or perhaps had never really allowed to flower.”

In summary, Rockefeller’s life is a fascinating case study in how he became the richest man in the world: he started his business career in the right place at the right time, and did everything possible to achieve a monopoly before without getting shut down by the government. This is what Standard Oil did in the past, and what companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Apple attempt to do today. But this pursuit of business success also had negative consequences for his life as it created many enemies for him and also caused alienation from his family members. Regardless of whether one considers him good or evil, the truth is, his unwavering Christian faith inspired him to do certain things that many rich people would not do in this world.