JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER

EARLY LIFE

• He was Americas first billionaire.
• His mother instilled a Baptist faith in him.
• He said," There is nothing in the world that
• can compare with the Christian fellowship ;
• nothing that can satisfy but Christ."

EARLY LIFE

• He was born on July 8, 1839, in Moravia.
• His father practiced herbal medicine.
• He attended Cleveland business college.
• He wasn't afraid of work, so he took on small
• business gestures around age 15.

EARLY LIFE

• He raised turkeys, sold candy, and did jobs for neighbors.
• His family moved to Ohio where he studied bookkeeping briefly.
• When he get his first job on September 26, he deemed it "job
• day" and celebrated it every year.

EARLY LIFE

• At age 16, his first job was an office assistant.
• At age 20 he worked as a commission merchant.
• He worked in meat, grains, hay, and other goods.
• In the early 1860's he saw an opportunity in oil.
• In 1863 he opened his first oil refinery.

LATER LIFE

• Less than a decade after he opened his refinery,
• he had near control of almost all refineries.
• In the early 1800's his company had a net worth of $55 million.
• His company established a system of pipelines to transport
• their product.

LATER LIFE

• In the 19th century, he sold "waste products".
• These waste products were paraffin and petroleum jelly.
• He sold them as products to use to pave roads.
• His business forced smaller businesses to give up their stock to him.

LATER LIFE

• Rockefeller organized the Standard Oil Trust,
• but as his power and wealth grew, his standing with
• the public decreased drastically.
• In 1895 he retired from his day to day involvement
• with Standard Oil and turned to his philanthropic endeavors.

LATER LIFE

• Rockefeller gave away more than $530 million.
• His money helped pay for the University of Chicago.
• He and his wife Laura had 5 children.
• His daughter Alice died in infancy.
• He is considered on of Americas leading businessmen.