John D Rockefeller Accomplishments

913 Words4 Pages

John D. Rockefeller is the founder of the Standard oil company. In his time, he became one of the world's wealthiest men and a major philanthropist. Everything we use today can be credited in some way to his success in the oil industry. From medical laboratories to the cares we drive today, his innovations and success in his industry have led to breakthroughs in every aspect of human life. Rockefeller was born into a modest circumstance in upstate New York where he was the eldest son and second to six children. He attended Oswego Academy and after the family relocated to Strongsville, near Cleveland Ohio in 1853 and six years later after attending and dropping out of high school he took simple college classes in business Unafraid …show more content…

and abroad. In just over a decade since Standard Oil was incorporated, it had a near monopoly of the oil business in the U.S. and consolidated each division under one giant corporate umbrella, with Rockefeller overseeing all of it. Everything Rockefeller had done to this point had led to the first American monopoly or "trust," and it would serve as a guiding light for others in big business following behind him. With such an aggressive push into the industry the public and the U.S. Congress took notice of Standard soon became the epitome of a company grown too big and too dominant, for the public good. Congress jumped into the fray with both feet in 1890 with the Sherman Antitrust Act, and two years later the Ohio Supreme Court deemed Standard Oil a monopoly that stood in violation of Ohio law. Always eager to be a step ahead, Rockefeller dissolved the corporation and allowed each property under the Standard banner to run by others. The overall hierarchy remained chiefly in place, though, and Standard's board maintained control of the web of spun-off

Open Document