John Rockefeller: childhood and the formation of the oil tycoon
John Rockefeller is a personality known far beyond the financial world. For many professionals he is a model of a businessman who knew how to make money, turning small ideas into grand projects. Rockefeller was the first dollar billionaire, and his approach is still relevant.
The entrepreneur was born in 1839 into a family of petty traders. John’s father was often traveling, and when he arrived, he told his son about the peculiarities of his work. Rockefeller Sr. coached the boy, taught him to haggle and come up with arguments to sell goods. These skills helped the businessman in the future. John’s first customers were his younger sisters, to whom he sold candy bought in large quantities by the piece.
Learning was not the boy’s passion; with far more enthusiasm he found ways to make money. Rockefeller worked part-time at his neighbors’ household, and he saved the money he received. After the amount reached $50, he borrowed it at interest, and so began his activity as a moneylender.
After high school, John did not go to college, but chose to concentrate on courses that provided knowledge in a short period of time. Such was the training in accounting, which took 3 months. After that, at the age of 16, the young man got a job as an assistant accountant and grew up to be the manager of the company.
However, Rockefeller wanted to start his own business and found a firm where they were looking for a partner with a capital of $2 thousand. John had only $600, and he took the rest in the form of a loan from his father at 10% per annum.
Business in the joint company went well, the partners sold popular products and were engaged in supplying the army. A civil war broke out in the United States, and the firm’s assets were not enough to fully meet the increased demands. Then Rockefeller took a loan from the bank, and the business began to grow rapidly.
The mid-19th century was the beginning of the oil industry and the growth of their demand. In 1970 a businessman decided to organize a joint firm with a chemist who was involved in kerosene. The company became a monopolist in 10 years, achieving not only a huge income, but also revolutionizing the market for oil and petroleum products.
In addition to occupying a profitable niche in time, Rockefeller very intelligently arranged the processes in the company. The entrepreneur carried out a comprehensive modernization of the industry itself, thanks to which the excesses of the business were reduced. He also cooperated with the railroad carriers, and thanks to this cooperation the expenses for transportation were considerably reduced. Rockefeller’s company controlled more than 90% of the oil market, and even the antitrust law did not prevent John from making a billion dollars fortune. The businessman circumvented the law by dividing his company into several smaller ones. Thus formally it was not a monopolist, although in fact it controlled the segment.