In 1870, the company Standard Oil was founded in Cleveland, making Rockefeller the first dollar-billionaire in human history.

John Rockefeller was born in 1839 to a lumberman father (a self-proclaimed "botanic doctor") and a devout Baptist mother. His mother taught him one golden rule: "Willful waste makes woeful want."

William Rockefeller explained the rules of trade to his son from a very early age. Later, John recalled:

"He often bargained with me and bought various services from me. He taught me how to buy and sell. My father simply 'drilled' me on enrichment!"

When John turned seven, he began raising turkeys for sale and worked part-time digging potatoes for neighbors. He recorded all results of his commercial activity in a small notebook. From his very first salary, Rockefeller purchased a sturdy accounting ledger in which he meticulously logged every income and expense.

His path to Cleveland began in 1853. At the age of 16, he got his first job as a bookkeeper's assistant at the firm Hewitt & Tuttle. It was there, while working as an accountant, that he grasped the fundamental truth of business: profit is not made in the production of goods, but in logistics and discounts. This would be his only job as a hired employee.

He spent hours calculating the cost of transporting barrels via canals and railroads, realizing that official tariffs could be bypassed through a system of secret rebates. This skill became the foundation of his empire.

The Birth of a Monster (1870)

Oil in the mid-19th century was chaos. Producers in Pennsylvania simply dumped excess gasoline into rivers because they only needed kerosene for lamps.

Rockefeller saw this as the sin of inefficiency. In 1863, he built his first refinery in The Flats (the lowlands along the Cuyahoga River). His genius lay in total utilization:

• Kerosene was made from oil.
• Gasoline was used as fuel for the plant itself (others discarded it).
• By-products were turned into petroleum jelly, paraffin wax, and even roof paint.

Following the Civil War, an economic boom began in the United States. In 1870, the company Standard Oil was officially registered with a capital of $1 million. The name "Standard" itself was a marketing move: until then, the quality of kerosene varied everywhere, leading to fires.

John Rockefeller's idea—that processing and transporting oil was more profitable than drilling for it—proved correct. He built his strategy around the railroads intended for transporting oil from fields to Cleveland, which made small producers dependent on carriers. Using a discount system, he extracted maximum profit and unhesitatingly used former competitors whom he had bought out as spies among those still creating competition.

"The Cleveland Massacre": Tactics of Capture

What happened in the early 1870s went down in history as "The Cleveland Massacre." Within months, Rockefeller bought out 22 of his 26 competitors in the city.

How did he manage it?

• Railroads: He struck a secret pact with the South Improvement Company railroad. They gave him a 50% discount on oil shipments while simultaneously raising prices for everyone else.
• Ultimatum: Visiting a competitor, Rockefeller would open his books. He showed the owner their actual costs and said: "You are bankrupt. I can close you today, or I can buy you tomorrow for pennies on the dollar. Choose."
• Buyout with Prestige: Many he didn't ruin but made partners. Those who agreed became richer than before but lost their independence.

By 1882, the Standard Oil Trust controlled approximately 90% of all oil refining in the US.

Philosophy: "Competition is a Sin"

Rockefeller sincerely considered himself a benefactor. By lowering the price of kerosene tenfold, he brought light to the homes of the poor, who previously burned expensive whale oil.

His phrase "Competition is a sin" sounds shocking, but for him, monopoly was synonymous with order. Why should five factories waste resources when one efficient entity could do the same work cheaper?

Breakup and Legacy

Between 1906 and 1911, President Taft's administration and journalist Ida Tarbell (whose own father had been ruined by Standard Oil) launched a crusade against the trust. The Supreme Court of the USA ordered the empire to be broken up into 34 separate companies.

Ironically, this breakup made Rockefeller even wealthier. Shareholders of the new companies (such as ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Marathon) received stakes in all parts of the shattered empire.

David Polyakov (Special Correspondent for API TV from Cleveland, Ohio, USA)

MORE:

Akron, "All-America City 2025": One Year After the Triumph

Arctic Campaign Memorial in Portland: Remembering the Arctic Convoys and the Threads of Sister‑City Ties

Cleveland Marks the 70th Anniversary of the Council for International Programs (CIP)

A Bridge Across Space: How a Bronze Gagarin Spoke to Cleveland

70 Years of Bridges of Friendship: Cleveland CIP Jubilee to Feature Sister Cities Project with Russian Delegation Participation

Древние люди из Сунгиря. Экспедиция Андрея Полякова «По Пути Афанасия Никитина»

#ДавидПоляков  #USA  #Clevelend #CIP #наука #Экспедиция #АндрейПоляков #APITV #ЭкспедицияАндреяПолякова #Путешествия #Туризм #Авто