The Legacy Of John D. Rockefeller

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Qtynness X. Franklin Mrs. Collins LMG 332 6/29/11 The Legacy of John D. Rockefeller John D. Rockefeller created one of the greatest monopolies of the nineteenth century. Rockefeller dominated the oil industry with his company’s monopolistic methods of underselling, differential pricing, and transporting rebates. As ruthless as the Standard Oil Company was before its separation; Rockefeller gave away vast amounts of his wealth to charities making him a true philanthropist. Philanthropy played a big part in Rockefeller’s life, before and after the Standard Oil Company. Rockefeller defined modern philanthropy by donating more than 550 million dollars to charities, churches, schools of all kind, and organizations throughout the nation. John D. Rockefeller is perhaps the greatest American Industrialist and Philanthropist in modern history. Rockefeller has had experience with the working world since he was sixteen starting out as a bookkeeper at a small firm in Cleveland. Rockefeller once said “The most important thing for a young man is to establish a credit… a reputation, character” (Xpore Inc). Like his father, Rockefeller believed that work could build character and “make ‘em sharp”. While working long hour’s day after day, calculating transportation cost became natural to john and would later serve him well in his career to come. Rockefeller formed a partnership with an old colleague using the money he had saved up from bookkeeping and the money he had borrowed from Big Bill. “Competition is a sin” (Xpore Inc). To avoid further aggression from the public and media, Rockefeller would just show his company’s books to his competitors and if they didn’t sell he would buy them for cheap once he bankrupt them. As ruthless as Rockefeller was, he was also a giving man and enjoyed donating to the right cause. Rockefeller contributed to society during his time by means
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