😉 Greetings to regular and new readers! The article “John Rockefeller: Biography of the First Billionaire in History” is about the life of a famous American businessman, philanthropist, and the first dollar billionaire.
Biography of John Rockefeller
John was born in 1839 in the USA (New York state). He was brought up in a Protestant family with six children. Father, William Avery Rockefeller worked as a lumberjack and then traded in various drugs throughout the state.
Mother, Louise Selanto, was very economical in her household and was engaged in raising numerous offspring. From early childhood, children in this family were taught to work, dedication and economy.
The boy inherited his business skills from his father. My father was a risky person and on the sly saved three thousand dollars to purchase a small plot of land. A small risk was always close to prudence and he invested part of the accumulated in various enterprises.
Rockefeller recalled that his father, as a child, told him a lot about the business in which he took part, explained how to do business correctly. As a boy, he raised turkeys, then sold them to neighbors, in the fall he helped them dig up potatoes. As a 13-year-old teenager, he gave $ 50 to a neighbor at 7,5 percent per annum.
In the former Soviet Union, such a business was called speculation at that time. For such “entrepreneurship” one could get a real term. These are the basics of business, which our billionaires are now remembering.
John had an excellent memory, equanimity, but was very sensitive. At the age of 15, the young man entered the one-year courses of accountants, then dropped out of school, looking for a job.
John Davison Rockefeller
He was accepted into the accounting department of Hewitt and Tuttle, starting at $ 17 per month and later at $ 25. For a certain amount, he immediately bought a small diary for recording income and expenses. At 18, he became a partner with Maurice Clarke.
Business
In the 1870s, significant oil reserves were explored in the United States. John and Clark started mining “black gold”. Then John decided to do this business alone and bought his share from Maurice for $ 72,5 thousand.
The business went uphill and in 1870 the entrepreneur founded “Standart Oil”. With their friend Henry Flagler, they began to buy out failing companies related to this business and created an entire network throughout the country.
Some competitors entered the share, others ceased to exist. By 1879, the Rockefeller Empire had 90% of all US oil refineries.
Portrait of Laura Celestina Spelman
His wife Laura (Laura) did not lag behind her husband in stinginess. Biographers say that she was a perfect match for Rockefeller. Perhaps that is why they have lived in perfect harmony for over 60 years. In 1914, the couple celebrated a golden wedding with their children and grandchildren.
May 23, 1937 John Rockefeller died suddenly of a heart attack. He was 97 years old.
Charity
A successful businessman has always been involved in charity work. He gave more than $ 500 million for these noble goals. This amount went to the development of universities, churches, scientific research in medicine. He gave huge sums to the development of the United States.
A Christian by faith, from childhood he gave 10 percent of his income to the Baptist Church. In 1905, this amount reached $ 100 million.
Since 1930, the businessman has donated $ 0,5 billion to charity. His son, John Rockefeller Jr. also donated $ 0,5 billion to good causes. He allocated funds for the construction of the Rockefeller Center and $ 9 million for the construction of the UN building. A lot of money for the construction of the Empire State Building.
The plateau on Mary Byrd’s Land in Antarctica is named after Rockefeller, who fully paid for R. Byrd’s expedition.
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