John D. Rockefeller Biography & Net Worth

John D. Rockefeller Biography & Net Worth

John D. Rockefeller was an American business tycoon and noted philanthropist. He is widely considered to be the richest American of all time, and the wealthiest person in modern history. Rockefeller’s fortune was amassed from the Standard Oil company which eventually expanded into a world-dominating monopoly. The reason the Standard Oil company may not be familiar at present time is because it was condemned as an illegal monopoly in 1911 and was then broken into multiple companies, notably; SOcal (which later merged into Chevron), ESSO (which later merged into Exxon), and Sohio (which later merged into BP). In the article below, you’ll find John D. Rockefeller’s biography, businesses, family, and many more important details.

John D. Rockefeller’s Early Life

John Davison Rockefeller Sr. was born in Richford, New York, United States on July 8, 1839. His father, William Avery Rockefeller was of German and English descent, while his mother, Eliza Davison, was of Scots-Irish ancestry. He was the eldest son in a family of six children.

A traveling salesman by occupation, his father seldom visited the family. He was notorious for his loose morality and dubious activities. On the other hand, his mother was a virtuous housewife who put in great effort to preserve normalcy at home. As a child, Davison helped his mother with household chores and also did several odd jobs to earn some money to help his family.

After his family moved to Owego in 1851, John enrolled into the Owego Academy. In 1853, the family relocated to Strongsville where he joined Cleveland’s Central High School. He then pursued a business course in book keeping briefly at Folsom’s Commercial College. Despite the difficulties at home, John Davison Rockefeller was an obedient and studious boy.

John D. Rockefeller’s Career

In the early 1860s, John envisioned he would achieve success in the oil industry. In 1963, he set out to open a refinery at Cleveland, not so far from Pittsburgh. It was a huge success, and in as little as two years, it had become the biggest and made John consider becoming a full-time oil capitalist. In 1970, he established Standard Oil along with his associates, and the company was an instant success. His hunger for success and commitment to his goals made the company grow bigger every day. Standard Oil Company soon started acquiring other small oil companies to have absolute monopoly over the oil business. When it became massive in size and also economically, the Standard Oil Company entered agreements with railroads to dispatch its oil. They started to buy pipelines as well. Now the Standard Oil Company has its grip over nearly every aspect of the oil business with no rivals.

Standard Oil became the first American monopoly under John Davison Rockefeller within a decade and also began to spread their business and services across the world.

Personal Life, Ill health, Death

John D. Rockefeller was also associated with several humanitarian endeavors after he retired from his positions at Standard Oil. He was known for his philanthropic gestures and financial contributions to many causes in the society, including key aspects such as education, health, and economic development.

While he was 50, he suffered from digestive troubles and went through stages of depression. He also battled alopecia and had lost all his body hair by 1890. Though he underwent treatments, he wasn’t able to get back his hair and subsequently reduced his workload for his several health problems.

On 23rd May 1937, John passed away due to arteriosclerosis at his residence in Ormond Beach, Florida. He was 97 when he died, and was buried at the Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.

Awards & Achievements

At present time, no such information exists in the records of John D. Rockefeller. However, he is known as the founder of Standard Oil and his accomplishments as the leader of the company which had a monopoly in the oil business across America is unrivaled to date.

John Rockefeller Net Worth

Regarded as the richest American of all time, and the wealthiest person in modern history, John D. Rockefeller net worth was around $340 billion at the time of his passing. It is said that in the year 1914 alone, he recorded earnings of approximately $58 million from his numerous businesses and investments. Still, till date, many years after his passing, his family is very wealthy and considered to be the 22nd wealthiest family in America.

An accounting clerk by profession, John turned a $4,000 investment in an oil refinery Cleveland into the biggest fortune in modern human history. His accumulated wealth at the time of his passing makes him by far the wealthiest person in modern history.