Titan

Titan will inspire you to keep working hard to make your business goals happen by sharing the life story of John D. Rockefeller Sr., from his humble beginnings to his astronomical success as an oil tycoon and beyond.

Sometime around 1723, Johann Peter Rockefeller and his family immigrated to the United States. Nobody could have anticipated that their modest beginning in this new country would lay the foundation for the rise of one of the richest people ever.

John Davidson Rockefeller, a descendent of Johann, was born in 1839. His father moved their family many times to take advantage of business opportunities. Although his dad was often absent for months at a time, young John still thrived focusing on the values of self-improvement and honor he learned as a Baptist.

His father being gone so much even allowed John the opportunity to take on responsibilities at home that helped him mature quickly.

After an education at Owego Academy, one of the best schools in his area, he was eager to get a job. His determination won against the abysmal job market, and John got his first job keeping books at age 16.

This was the training ground he needed to develop skills that would later help him see his business ambitions through to fruition. It wasn’t long before a friendship with Maurice B. Clark let John begin his first company with a partner.

Although they began with buying and selling items, a connection with chemist Samuel Andrews eventually led them to do work in the oil industry. Soon, John was running his own business and growing rapidly.

Striking a deal with Lake Shore Railroad was the next big step on Rockefeller’s rise to riches, and one of the most important. It let him have rebates on the costs of transporting his oil, which kept margins low and competitive. The relationship with Lake Shore allowed Rockefeller to pay just $1.65 per barrel of oil, a staggering discount on the regular $2.40 price. And it let him provide the company with a staggering 60 carloads of refined oil each day. This edge enabled him to climb the social ladder, and soon he was moving he and his wife Laura Spelman onto the prestigious Euclid Avenue in Cleveland. They had their first child not long afterward and would have others over the next few years. At this point, it was time for Rockefeller to dissolve all previous business connections and replace them with Standard Oil Company with him as president. John quickly took over other oil companies and incorporated them into Standard Oil. Before long he held a monopoly on the American oil refining industry, and all this at only 35-years-old. He didn’t…