According to Britannica.com John Davison Rockefeller (born July 8, 1839) was the oldest of six children. His father, William (Big Bill) Avery Rockefeller was a traveling “physician” and “snake-oil salesman.” I think that is the first time I have read a biography where someone was described as a snake-oil salesman. I’ve seen them in movies and on television, I have even read about them in books, but it seems funny to read that a person actually made a living selling various “remedies” while moving from city to city. According to History.com William Rockefeller (a.k.a. Dr. Livingston) carried a large jug of “medicine” which he claimed could cure anything, assuming the patient was willing to part with enough cash.
In her expose of Standard Oil journalist Ida Tarbell discovered William Rockefeller’s questionable past which included a criminal indictment and allegations of him spending long periods of time away from home and from his family. When he was home it seems he spent a lot of time counting his money as once described by his oldest son. And while it seems John D. Rockefeller spent most of his life trying to hide his father’s misdeeds, he did not shy away from the idea of building a business centered around cutting the most beneficial deals possible. His business acumen would lead to the creation of the Standard Oil Company, which at its peak controlled most of the world’s oil production (according to Encyclopedia Britannica).
Rockefeller started off dealing in agricultural goods. But in the 1860’s he took note of the growing oil industry in Pennsylvania. Eventually he and his business partners would build Cleveland’s largest oil refinery, joining the refinery to other related businesses to form the Standard Oil Company in 1870. By merging with other companies and with a lot of help from the railroads, Standard would grow and eventually control 90 % of the nation’s oil production.
The company’s growth was also aided by the fact that people were turning to kerosene in order to light lamps which once had been fueled by things like whale oil. Standard Oil created a new way to refine oil allowing the company to use oil found in Ohio which was considered too thick to be worth processing. The company’s large Whiting Indiana refinery began using the new process around 1889 meeting the new demand. The process (called thermal cracking according to The American Oil & Gas Historical Society) produced high quality kerosene along with a highly combustible byproduct called gasoline.
Growing up in Northwestern Indiana I remember hearing about the Standard Oil refinery, which often made the news for good and sometimes negative reasons. I even remember us occasionally driving by the refinery’s oil storage tanks with the large red and blue Standard Oil insignia on the side. What I did not know was how the Whiting Indiana refinery’s thermal cracking helped build Standard Oil into a huge monopoly aided by business practices such as negotiating huge rebates from the railroads. With lower transport costs and profits from refining cheaper sour crude Standard was often able to squeeze competitors out of the market. Standard Oil, the company started in Ohio in 1870 grew into an oil giant with controlling interests in a number of related companies. Most likely Standard would still control the oil industry today, if not for a bill proposed by a senator from the company’s own backyard.
In 1890 U.S. Senator John Sherman of Ohio proposed what would become the Sherman Antitrust Act, designed to encourage economic competition by regulating the ability of any company or group of companies to concentrate power over an industry. In 1892 Standard was found to be in violation of antitrust laws in Ohio but was able to restructure becoming the Standard Oil Trust of New Jersey. For years Standard Oil would maneuver and reshape in order to avoid litigation over its control of the oil industry. But in 1909 the justice department filed a federal lawsuit leading to a 1911 judgment which ordered the company to break up, leading to 34 independent companies. I still remember when I first noticed that all of the Standard gas stations where I lived had become Amoco stations seemingly overnight. Remnants of Rockefeller’s oil monopoly are still around today in companies such as ExxonMoble and BP but the one time giant no longer exists.
Rockefeller would outlive his oil monopoly, spending the latter part of his life donating his fortune. This he did in accordance with his belief that he should make as much money as he could in order to give it away. According to a number of sources John D. Rockefeller was a devout Baptist and it was as a teen attending church with his mother that he learned this principle of earning and giving. From the age of 16 until his death Rockefeller gave, believing his ability to earn money to be a God given gift. With this gift he lived to fulfill his belief in the principle spelled out in Luke 6:38.
That old Standard Oil refinery I knew of as a kid is now a BP refinery. And though the names have changed and some have merged, much of the old Standard Oil which Rockefeller helped start 150 years ago still has a huge influence on the oil and gasoline we use daily. The Rockefeller foundation continues its mission of “Promoting the well-being of humanity throughout the world,’ something it has attempted to do since 1913. It’s co-founder passed on May 23, 1937 but his wealth and legacy, both through his philanthropy and in triggering the establishment of antitrust laws, continue their influence on the world long after the signing of that initial Standard Oil charter 150 years ago.
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