Going beyond is only the beginning

John Davison Rockfeller (1839-1937), is a synonym for history of the United States of North America, a man who was born in average economic conditions, became himself in one of the most powerful business man in the world, a combination between talent, initiative and intuition, they took him to be a public figure, therefore indelibly marked for good and evil of the Planetary Society. Deeply contradictory; criticized for how to reach and ascend to the business class, charged with controlling different monopolies, including the well-known Standard Oil (1870) but also founder of universities, such as the Chicago (1890) and which has his name (1901) in NY, charities such as Rockefeller Foundation (1913), the General Education Board (1902), collector of the most varied, include among others the foundations of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1870) and the Museum of Modern Art in New York)1929), invaluable legacy to the American people, the same for visitors, lovers and scholars of art.

 

 

 

It will be relatively short his experience as an employee, his concerns will take him from an early age to learn and take risks, by creating his first Clark company & Rockefeller (1857), this tempered its character as financial ambitious, investing time and again capital and profits for getting better results. It will be the city of Cleveland which would allow him to develop his business, in such a way that the people of that time believed owner of the city, because at every step that gave his wealth was increasing

The USA economic despite the Civil War (1861-1865), grew fast and  allowing him to explore other fields of exploitation, it will leave the coffee trade, to invest in the so-called black gold, which will take him in the year of 1870 to found the famous Standard Oil. With the idea of producing a refined kerosene, capable of reaching parts of the country households. To achieve the goal it was necessary its distribution, strategy that will help him to seek negotiations with the only Builder of railroads of the time, the wealthy Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877), who gets a suitable contract achieving its end.

 

 

 

His strategy was to buy and eliminating one by one of the competitors, with favorable or unfortunate dealings as it is the case, this company would be the essential bastion of development and the axis of what became known as the Empire, at the end of this economic maneuver Standard Oil handled 90% of all North American market and Rockefeller, in his 33 years old, his was the country’s richest person. Ten years later created the holding company of investments: Standard Oil Trust, which managed investments in different branches of industry and spread all over the world. This measure could avoid being accused of monopoly by the Government which began to harass him for his practices and advocated free competition. It didn´t last much in that the case was brought to the Superior Court of Ohio justice which declared the Trust as an illegal monopoly, giving as a result, the total disintegration of the group, completely dissolved in 1911.

At the end of his days he had the 1.53% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the United States of North American.

Goes beyond was just the beginning of a history that still continues in his heirs and the influence of all the experienced and novice entrepreneurs who dream of achieving wealth which until today has not been able to be matched.

 

 

Text: Emanuel Alday ± Photo: tqn / bp / wpd / colan history