John D. Rockefeller
By: Brooke Paxson and Lillian Kantor
Childhood
- He was born July 8, 1839, in Richford, New York.
- William Avery Rockefeller was John’s father. He was a con artist and lived a double life (including another wife).
- Eliza Davison Rockefeller was his mother and a very religious woman.
Family
- Laura Spelman Rockefeller was his wife.
- He had 5 children:
Elizabeth Rockefeller, Alice Rockefeller, Alta Rockefeller, Edith Rockefeller, and John Davison Rockefeller, Jr.
Rockefeller's Five Children
Rockefeller's Wife
Rockefeller Family Tree
Academics
Owego Academy in Owego, New York
This was his Middle School.
High School in Cleveland, Ohio
There his teachers found he wad very good at math.
Folsom Commercial College (Chancellor University)
He went there for ten weeks where he learned bookkeeping, penmanship, commercial history, mercantile customs, banking, and exchange.
Rockefeller's Work
- Rockefeller was obsessed with business. He was the founder of the monopoly, Standard Oil Company.
- Because of this, he became one of the wealthiest men in the world.
- His net worth is about 340 billion dollars!
- His company by itself shut down in 1911, but throughout the years, it merged with other companies to create, Texaco.
- In 1931, the company merged with the Vacuum Oil Company. 1996, their company became Mobil Oil Company. Pretty soon all of the Standard Oil companies became different companies, until 2001, when they all became Texaco.
Philanthropy
- Rockefeller was always giving to charity.
- When he got his first job, he donated 10% of his salary to charity.
- His first donation of large scale was to the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, a struggling school for African-American women.
- Then he contributed to several Black colleges including: the Tuskegee Institute and Morehouse College.
- He also created the Rockefeller Foundation.
Quote
“If we assist the highest forms of education – in whatever field – we secure the widest influence in enlarging the boundaries of human knowledge.”
-John D. Rockefeller
Fun Facts
- Rockefeller celebrated the day he got his first job more than he celebrated his birthday, showing his love for work and business.
- Due to his many donations to found colleges, Rockefeller has a college named after him. Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary also changed its name to his wives maiden name, Spelman.
- Rockefeller was an abolitionist, but he could not fight in the Civil War because of work. Therefore, he sent substitute soldiers.
- Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company was the cause for the U.S. to make the Antitrust Law because his company was such a huge monopoly.
- Rockefeller is the richest man in history by being the first man in that time and before to reach a personal fortune of 1 billion dollars.
References
- http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-businessmen/richest-billionaires/john-rockefeller-net-worth/
- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/rockefellers-john/
- http://www.britannica.com/topic/Standard-Oil-Company-and-Trust
- http://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/almanac/hall_of_fame/john_d._rockefeller_sr
- http://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-john-d-rockefeller