Introduction to Rockefeller

Rockefeller Rockefeller Rockefeller Rockefeller Rockefeller Rockefeller

Who is the richest American in history? Forbes, a world-famous financial magazine, recently gave the answer. The total personal assets quoted by Forbes list are the data of the peak period of the listed rich. In order to more accurately reflect their impact on the American economy, Forbes converted everyone's personal assets into dollars by comparing the then US gross domestic product (GDP) in 2006. So, if john rockefeller were alive today, his personal assets would be several times that of Gates.

With the exception of john rockefeller, most early wealthy Americans succeeded by accident. He is not versatile, but he is unusually calm, shrewd and far-sighted. With unique courage and means, he built his huge oil empire from scratch step by step. In his long life, people have different opinions about him. Some people think that he is just an ambitious mercenary entrepreneur, while others praise him as a generous philanthropist.

John D Rockefeller john D Rockefeller (1839.7.8–1937.523) is an American industrialist, super capitalist and founder of Mobil Oil Company (Standard Oil). He was born in Richford, new york, the son of william avery rockefeller, an undocumented travel doctor, and his mother Eliza Davidson, a devout Baptist. Because my father lacks a sense of responsibility, he has been wandering as a drug dealer for many years. Known as "Big Bill", he is a lumberjack, a horse dealer and a wandering witch doctor, selling the so-called panacea of "seeing miraculous effects and curing all diseases". In addition, he also sells land, fur and salt, selling groceries. He is almost an idle intellectual, which makes family life difficult. Eliza, the mother, shouldered the heavy responsibility of bringing home the bacon and raised five children by herself. His parents are completely different in personality: his mother is a devout Christian, who converts to the Bible in every word and deed, and is frugal and strict in family education; But my father is a practical playboy. He is confident, adventurous, sociable, willful and self-centered. As the eldest son, Rockefeller learned the pragmatic way of doing business from his father and the advantages of being meticulous, frugal and trustworthy from his mother, which had a great impact on his future success. When I was a child, I carefully fed the little turkeys I caught and selected them for sale in the market. /kloc-When he was 0/2 years old, he saved 50 dollars. He lent money to his neighbor and collected the principal and interest. 1855, due to my father's reasons, I can't continue to go to school, only two months before the graduation ceremony of high school on July 16. John followed his father's advice and spent 40 yuan on a three-month course at Folsom Business School in Cleveland. Then, he joined Hewitt-tuttle Company as a double-entry bookkeeper.

1858, Clark used $800 in savings and 1000 borrowed from his father to form Clark Rockefeller Company, mainly engaged in agricultural products. He didn't take part in the civil war, but he made huge profits during the war. The company's profit reached 17000 USD in 1862.

1863, Andrews, an oil refining expert, persuaded Rockefeller to invest in an oil refinery, and Andrews-Clark Company was established. 1865, due to disagreement among partners, the company was split up for auction, and Rockefeller successfully bid for $72,500, and changed its name to Rockefeller-Andrews Company. In the same year, it opened a second refinery, becoming the largest refinery in Cleveland. 1866 new york Rockefeller company was established to be responsible for export business. 1867, Henry Morris virag Le joined the company, and the company was renamed Rockefeller Andrews virag Le Company. 1870 The company merged internally and established Standard Oil Company, with Rockefeller as the president and assets of 1 10,000 USD. Rockefeller declared: "One day, all the oil refining and barrel making businesses will be owned by Standard Oil Company." In less than two years, he annexed more than 20 oil refineries in the region and controlled 90% of the state's oil refining industry, all major oil pipelines and all tankers on the Pennsylvania Railway. He also took over the terminal facilities of a railway company in New Jersey, forcing oil capitalists in new york, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to fall at their feet. Then, in order to control the national oil industry, New York Central Railway Company and Yili Company were manipulated to compete with Pennsylvania Company in railway freight transportation. As a result, within eight years, the refining capacity of Mobil Oil Company soared from 4% in the United States to 95%. Mobil controls almost all American industries and several major railway lines. 1882, becoming the first trust in American history.

Later, Rockefeller Financial Group formed a financial core institution composed of four major banks, including Citibank and Chase Bank, and three insurance companies. These seven companies control 65,438+02% of national bank assets and 26% of national insurance assets, and the Rockwell family influenced the decision-making of industrial enterprises through them. Rockefeller Financial Group founded a foundation to give grants to social groups such as education (now University of Chicago, Rockefeller University), culture, and medical care, so as to expand his influence and influence. Rockefeller Financial Group also supports cronies to hold important positions in the government. For example, Dulles and Lascaux, both former secretaries of state, both served as presidents of the Rockwell Foundation. Before becoming Secretary of State, Kissinger was nelson rockefeller's personal adviser on foreign policy. Members of this family are also active in the political arena, influencing domestic and foreign policies. For example, nelson rockefeller served as the vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977.

John rockefeller is one of the most controversial figures in modern business history.

On the one hand, the standard oil company he founded monopolized 80% of the refining industry and 90% of the oil pipeline business in the United States at its peak. On the other hand, Rockefeller believes in Christianity, and the foundation named after him adheres to the purpose of "benefiting mankind all over the world", with a total donation of 500 million US dollars.

This seemingly contradictory mental state makes Rockefeller's entrepreneurial history quite representative among the early American rich: unusually calm, shrewd and far-sighted, and with his unique courage and means, he built a huge business empire step by step. Rockefeller said, "If I am stripped to a penny and left in the middle of the desert, I can rebuild the whole dynasty as long as a camel team passes by."

Rockefeller, 16 years old, works as a clerk in a dry goods store in Ohio, with a weekly salary of $5. 19 years old went to the sea to do business, selling grain and meat. Since then, Rockefeller has recorded every income and expenditure, not even missing a penny of charitable donations. After three years of accumulation, 22-year-old Rockefeller entered the oil industry and founded Standard Oil Company on 1870.

At this time, Rockefeller was not satisfied with the speed of creating wealth by saving. 1882, he founded an unprecedented joint venture-trust. This structure, which is easy to accumulate wealth, makes Standard Oil the largest oil group enterprise in the world in two years. Rockefeller became a famous "oil king" at home and abroad. Standard Oil Company was finally named Mobil Oil Company. In 19 10, Rockefeller's wealth has reached 10 billion dollars. The good times did not last long. The following year, the US Supreme Court ruled that the trust was dissolved.

Although great wealth has aroused the vigilance of the society, Rockefeller himself is still a devout Christian. He strictly follows the Baptist dogma-no drinking, no smoking or even dancing. Unlike the habits of ordinary rich people, Rockefeller is not interested in buying French estates or Scottish castles, and he is too lazy to buy works of art, yachts or medieval suits. The love of his life is riding a horse.

1897 after retiring from standard oil company, Rockefeller focused on charity. China is the country with the largest overseas investment of Rockefeller Foundation. As we all know, Peking Union Medical College Hospital and Medical College are the biggest and most famous undertakings of Rockefeller Foundation in China. Little known is that Rockefeller Foundation participated in the excavation and archaeological work of Zhoukoudian "Beijingers" from the very beginning.

However, as the most famous veteran American capitalist in China, the name Rockefeller once became synonymous with the inferiority of capitalism. At the beginning of the reform and opening-up, the American personal wealth creation history he represented was shown in the description of China media, and gradually assisted China to form a new generation of wealth view: in social life, wealth and the ability to legally create wealth should be given due respect.

If john D Rockefeller (1839 ~ 1937) were still alive, his worth would be about $200 billion in today's dollars-according to Forbes' list of billionaires in 2003, Bill Gates, then the richest man in the world, was worth $40.7 billion. Strolling through the streets of new york, you can appreciate the past glory of the Rockefeller family everywhere: Bank of JPMorgan Chase, Rockefeller Center, Rockefeller Foundation, Museum of Modern Art and Rockefeller University, which rank among the top in the world in the field of life sciences. Even the popularity of penicillin as a common drug is closely related to Rockefeller and his family. The legacy of the old Rockefeller still dominates the world oil industry, and he himself can be called the personification symbol of the ubiquitous and omnipotent western oil industry.

1859, the commercial success of the first oil well in Pennsylvania, USA, marked the beginning of modern oil industry. At that time, the most important use of oil was to refine kerosene for lighting. 1870, Rockefeller founded the standard oil company, and soon he established his own empire by ruthlessly squeezing and annexing his opponents. By the time he was 38, Rockefeller had controlled 90% of the oil refining industry in the United States and greatly reduced the price of petroleum products: during Rockefeller's period, the price of gasoline dropped from 88 cents to 5 cents per gallon.

1911may 15, the U.S supreme court ruled that according to the Sherman antitrust law of 1890, Mobil oil company belongs to monopoly and should be dissolved. According to this judgment, Mobil oil empire is divided into about 37 regional oil companies. However, despite the Supreme Court's judgment and the media's previous characterization of Rockefeller as an "evil" monopoly capitalist who does whatever it takes to achieve his goals, investors still enthusiastically pursue the shares of these "Baby Mobil", which makes the total market value of many companies after the split far exceed the original market value of Mobil, and the Rockefeller family's property is not reduced, but more than before.

The oil empire founded by Rockefeller and its successor companies-Exxon, Mobil and Chevron, and Texaco, Gulf, BP and Royal Dutch/Shell, which started in Texas, are also called "oil Seven Sisters", ranking the highest in the world. Exxon merged with Mobil on 1999, and Chevron merged with Texaco on1200, after Gulf sold its assets to Chevron and BP on 1980 and 1990. Today, ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Shell and Total of France are the top five oil companies in the world.

When john D Rockefeller found that his wealth had reached nearly $ 19 10, he began to think about how to use this wealth. Because he was not interested in buying French manors or castles in Scotland, nor did he bother to buy works of art, yachts or medieval suits and all the things that the rich talked about, he invested a large part of his income in coal mines, railways, insurance companies, banks and various types of production enterprises, the most famous of which was iron ore business.

For China people, "being rich for three generations" seems to be an iron law. However, the Rockefeller family has lasted for six generations since its rise, and there is still no sign of decadence and decline. This is closely related to their wealth view and the education their children received from childhood. Their family advocates thrift and is keen on creating wealth. These two points were particularly fully reflected in the life of lawrence Rockefeller, the master of ZTE in the Rockefeller family.

On July 1 1, 2004, lawrence Rockefeller, a billionaire and all-powerful man in the United States, died in his sleep at the age of 94. The third generation of Rockefeller family, although born with a golden key, is by no means a dude. He not only pioneered venture capital in his lifetime, but also made immortal contributions to environmental protection and charity in the United States.

The only son and heir of John D. Rockefeller Sr. is john D Rockefeller Jr., and john D Rockefeller Jr. has six children. His sister babs is the oldest, and the others are boys, from big to small, namely John, Nelson, Lawrence, Winslow and David. Lawrence Rockefeller 19 10 was born in new york on May 26th. In his childhood, Lawrence had the closest relationship with Nelson, who was two years older than him. They once raised rabbits together and sold them to science laboratories as pocket money. Such a thing sounds difficult to connect with the Rockefeller family, but it is true. The reason why the descendants of the Rockefeller family can achieve extraordinary achievements in the future has a lot to do with the family education they received from childhood. In order to prevent children from being spoiled by the aura of the family, both John Rockefeller Sr. and George W. john rockefeller Jr. have made great efforts in educating children and have a set of ancestral education plans. Father encourages Lawrence and other children to do housework to earn money: if flies are caught in the corridor, they will be rewarded with a dime every 100; Catch rats in the attic for 5 points each, and it is valuable to carry firewood and chop firewood. Lawrence and his brother Nelson got the franchise to clean the whole family's leather shoes at the age of 7 and 9 respectively, with 2 points for each pair of leather shoes and 1 horn for each pair of boots.

Lawrence spent his middle school days in Lincoln Middle School, which is famous for its teaching theory of "practice makes true knowledge". Lawrence's interest in photography, travel and exploration has been encouraged and developed. Lawrence and his brothers and sisters, although born in the richest family in America, have always maintained the virtue of thrift, which is attributed to their family environment. John Rockefeller Jr has been reading children's books regularly and checking their expenses, just like his father. As Baptists, the Rockefeller family resisted dancing and drinking, so they couldn't see the dance halls and bars common in rich people's mansions in their homes. Devout religious belief makes the Rockefeller family live a frugal and superior life.

Old John Rockefeller once said that the ability to make money is a gift from God to the Rockefeller family. Lawrence inherited the gift of making money from his grandfather. His name has assets of $654.38+$50 million, ranking 377th among Forbes' 587 billionaires. 1937, Lawrence inherited the new york Stock Exchange bought by his grandfather, and then embarked on the road of starting a business from Wall Street, creating a precedent for venture capital in the United States. Surprisingly, instead of buying more blue chips, he began to invest and help newly established enterprises start their own businesses. His first attempt was very accidental. At that time, he and his new wife were going to customize some furniture. When he saw the photos of Bentwood designed by Finnish designer alvar aalto, he had a premonition that these furniture would be the ideal choice for modern home, so he placed an order to buy a batch and opened a specialty store in new york. Although many people are skeptical about the business prospects, the result is a great demand for furniture. Until 1940, the Finnish winter war affected the supply of goods, and the business was forced to be interrupted. Lawrence's second deal is more influential. He got to know Eddie Rickenbeck, the pilot of World War I, and thought Rickenbeck's views on the upcoming rise of commercial air transport were very insightful. So, 1938, he funded Rickenbeck to set up Eastern Airlines, and became the largest shareholder of the company for a long time, and Eastern Airlines also became the most profitable airline after the war. In addition, his investment in 1939 McDonnell Douglas Airlines has also become a major supplier of military aircraft.

During the second world war, he froze his business and joined the navy, with the rank of school at least. After the war, he returned to the shopping mall and continued to look for new corporate investments. An article in Wall Street Journal 65438-0959 specifically pointed out Lawrence's contribution to the new field of venture capital, thus establishing his position as the "father of venture capital". Lawrence, together with other Rockefeller family members and some institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art, established the Vanlock Venture Capital Company, which specializes in venture capital. By the end of 1996, they had invested in 22 1 start-up companies, and all these companies had achieved good results after being invested.

Decades of business experience have convinced him of the importance of keeping a flexible mind and keeping pace with the times, so he is willing to accept new things, introduce new concepts, promote venture capital funds, and develop high-tech and other emerging industries, including investing in Apple Computer and Intel Group, the largest chip company in the United States.

More than a century has passed since J·D· Rockefeller became the first billionaire in American history, and the Rockefeller family is still writing brilliant history. Instead of hiding in their rooms all day planning how to keep their wealth and prevent money from falling into other people's pockets, they actively participate in culture, health and charity, spend a lot of money to set up various funds with a sense of guilt, and invest in universities and hospitals for the whole society to share. In today's America, it is almost impossible to completely avoid the influence of this family. It is no exaggeration to say that the development history of Rockefeller family in the past 150 years is an accurate epitome of the whole American history and has become an outstanding representative of American national spirit.

1937 On May 23rd, 98-year-old Rockefeller died in his villa in Aumund Beach. His descendants inherited his career. The Rockefeller family has become one of the top ten super-rich people in the United States and one of the most famous families in the United States today. His grandson, nelson rockefeller, was the vice president of the United States, while his other grandson, david rockefeller, was a famous banker. How much wealth the Rockefeller family has now, even they themselves can't tell.