John Rockefeller is considered one of the most important رجال الأعمال and prominent figures of the 20th century. Had a ranking of the wealthiest businessmen existed at the time, John Davison

Rockefeller would have topped the list. He lived for nearly a century, during which he weathered decades of competition in the oil industry that he helped

founding it, having amassed a fortune estimated at more than $900 million by 1913. He laid the essential foundations for America’s largest philanthropic institutions, and he also

One of the richest Americans of all time, and the wealthiest businessman in history.

John Rockefeller was born in 1839 on a small farm in upstate New York. As a young man, he worked as a farmer, businessman, and artist, and grew up in the city

The thriving industrial city on the shores of Lake Erie. He was deeply influenced by his mother and learned the value of thrift from her. After finishing school, he worked for four dollars a week

while also taking some business courses at Folsom Commercial College. His work gave him extensive experience in business ventures.

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After working hard, borrowing, and saving for three years, he managed to raise $1,800—enough capital to open a grocery store

in 1859, in partnership with Maurice Clark. His business prospered after the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. Rockefeller watched the businessmen in the Cleveland area

who were amassing huge fortunes from oil refining, and soon joined in the boom.

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Rockefeller was among the first رجال الأعمال who established oil refineries in Cleveland, at the end of the rail lines extending from the oil-producing regions

in Pennsylvania, the fledgling oil industry was chaotic and unregulated, until U.S. oil production surged from 2,000 barrels

in 1859 to 450,000 in 1860, then made another major leap in 1862, reaching three million barrels. With each passing year, Rockefeller’s wealth

grew, and by the mid-1860s he had begun pursuing new ventures, recapitalizing his company and buying out competitors.

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وبحلول عام 1870، تمكن من تأسيس شركة “ستاندرد أويل كومباني أوف أوهايو”، وكان يمتلك جميع المصافي الموجودة في المنطقة التي يتخذ منها

قاعدة لأعماله، وكان في طريقه إلى الاستحواذ على الصناعة النفطية بأكملها في البلاد. 

He realized early on that oil refining alone would not ensure his company’s survival, as refining capacity exceeded demand for its products.

Unable to control raw material prices, he began focusing on the costs of industrial goods he could control, then invested some of his

reinvested capital in building a barrel-making facility as part of his oil operations, helping to lower the cost per barrel.

Rockefeller’s company owed its success to his exceptional leadership and legendary attention to detail. Later, he devoted much of the rest of his life to philanthropy,

funding the founding of the University of Chicago and establishing a private philanthropic foundation that spent millions of dollars on education and health around the world, among many other causes.