John Davison Rockefeller (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American oil magnate. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of modern philanthropy. In 1870, he founded the Standard Oil Company and aggressively ran it until he officially retired in 1897. Standard Oil began as an Ohio partnership formed by John D. Rockefeller, his brother William Rockefeller, Henry Flagler, Jabez Bostwick, chemist Samuel Andrews, and a silent partner, Stephen V. Harkness. As kerosene and gasoline grew in importance, Rockefeller"s wealth soared, and he became the world"s richest man and first American worth more than a billion dollars. He is often regarded as the richest person in history.
Rockefeller spent the last 40 years of his life in retirement. His fortune was mainly used to create the modern systematic approach of targeted philanthropy with foundations that had a major effect on medicine, education, and scientific research.His foundations pioneered the development of medical research, and were instrumental in the eradication of hookworm and yellow fever. He is also the founder of both the University of Chicago and Rockefeller University. He was a devoted Northern Baptist and supported many church-based institutions throughout his life. Rockefeller adhered to total abstinence from alcohol and tobacco throughout his life.He had four daughters and one son; John D. Rockefeller, Jr. "Junior" was largely entrusted with the supervision of the foundations.
Standard Oil
By the end of the American Civil War, Cleveland was one of the five main refining centers in the U.S. (besides Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York, and the region in northwestern Pennsylvania where most of the oil originated). In June 1870, Rockefeller formed Standard Oil of Ohio, which rapidly became the most profitable refiner in Ohio. Standard Oil grew to become one of the largest shippers of oil and kerosene in the country. The railroads were fighting fiercely for traffic and, in an attempt to create a cartel to control freight rates, formed the South Improvement Company, in collusion with Standard and other oil men outside the main oil centers. The cartel received preferential treatment as a high-volume shipper, which included not just steep rebates of up to 50% for their product, but also rebates for the shipment of competing products. Part of this scheme was the announcement of sharply increased freight charges. This touched off a firestorm of protest from independent oil well owners, including boycotts and vandalism, which eventually led to the discovery of Standard Oil"s part in the deal. A major New York refiner, Charles Pratt and Company, headed by Charles Pratt and Henry H. Rogers, led the opposition to this plan, and railroads soon backed off. Pennsylvania revoked the cartel’s charter and equal rates were restored for the time being.Undeterred, though vilified for the first time by the press, Rockefeller continued with his self-reinforcing cycle of buying competing refiners, improving the efficiency of his operations, pressing for discounts on oil shipments, undercutting his competition, making secret deals, raising investment pools, and buying rivals out. In less than four months in 1872, in what was later known as the "Cleveland Conquest" or "Cleveland Massacre", Standard Oil had absorbed 22 of its 26 Cleveland competitors.
Eventually, even his former antagonists, Pratt and Rogers, saw the futility of continuing to compete against Standard Oil: in 1874, they made a secret agreement with their old nemesis to be acquired. Pratt and Rogers became Rockefeller"s partners. Rogers, in particular, became one of Rockefeller"s key men in the formation of the Standard Oil Trust. Pratt"s son, Charles Millard Pratt became Secretary of Standard Oil. For many of his competitors, Rockefeller had merely to show them his books so they could see what they were up against, then make them a decent offer. If they refused his offer, he told them he would run them into bankruptcy, then cheaply buy up their assets at auction. He saw himself as the industry’s savior, "an angel of mercy", absorbing the weak and making the industry as a whole stronger, more efficient, and more competitive. Standard was growing horizontally and vertically. It added its own pipelines, tank cars, and home delivery network. It kept oil prices low to stave off competitors, made its products affordable to the average household, and to increase market penetration, sometimes sold below cost if necessary. It developed over 300 oil-based products from tar to paint to Vaseline to chewing gum. By the end of the 1870’s, Standard was refining over 90% of the oil in the U.S. Rockefeller had already become a millionaire.Standard Oil Trust Certificate 1896In 1877, Standard clashed with the Pennsylvania Railroad, its chief hauler. Rockefeller had envisioned the use of pipelines as an alternative transport system for oil and began a campaign to build and acquire them. The railroad, seeing Standard’s incursion into the transportation and pipeline fields, struck back and formed a subsidiary to buy and build oil refineries and pipelines. Standard countered and held back its shipments, and with the help of other railroads, started a price war that dramatically reduced freight payments and caused labor unrest as well. Rockefeller eventually prevailed and the railroad sold all its oil interests to Standard. But in the aftermath of that battle, in 1879 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania indicted Rockefeller on charges of monopolizing the oil trade, starting an avalanche of similar court proceedings in other states and making a national issue of Standard Oil’s business practices.
人物简介
约翰·洛克菲勒全称约翰·戴维森·洛克菲勒（英文：John Davison Rockefeller，1839年7月8日－1937年5月23日），美国实业家，慈善家，以革命了石油工业与塑造现代慈善的企业化结构而闻名。1870年他创立了标准石油，在全盛期他垄断了全美90%的石油市场，成为美国第一位十亿富豪与全球首富。他也普遍被视为人类近代史上首富，财富总值折合今日之3000亿美元以上。
他受到记者与各种舆论的攻击，标准石油最后被美国最高法院判决违反反托拉斯法并且在1911年被勒令拆分为34家公司(事实上，反托拉斯法正是针对标准石油而制定的)。规模之巨大，其后继企业：艾克森美孚ExxonMobil、埃莫科Amoco、康纳科Conoco和雪佛龙Chevron在百年后的今天依然是世界最大的数间石油公司(其中艾克森美孚为2007年Fortune 500全球企业第二大)。
另一方面，洛克菲勒在他人生的后40年致力于慈善事业，主要是教育和医药领域。他在1897年正式结束对标准石油的直接管理，但保持了大部分的股权。他出资成立洛克菲勒研究所，资助北美医学研究，包括根除十二指肠寄身虫和黄热病，帮助了野口英世的研究，也对抗生素的发现贡献甚大。另外难得的是，他对黑人族群非常关照，并斥巨资提升黑人教育，广设学校。他也是个虔诚的北浸礼会教友，并且在他的一生中支持了很多教会背景的机构。
今天的两所美国顶尖大学：芝加哥大学、与洛克菲勒大学都是他创办的。 现今的纽约市也处处可见洛克菲勒家族留下的地标，如联合国总部大楼、洛克菲勒中心等等。洛克菲勒坚信他人生的目的是“从其他恶性竞争的商人们身上赚取尽可能多的金钱，而用此金钱发展有益人类的事业”。他以各种手段成为了空前绝后的巨富，但他不烟不酒不赌不色，一生可谓勤俭自持，并在晚年将大部分财产捐出资助慈善与研究事业，开美国富豪行善之先河，给今天如比尔·盖茨与沃伦·巴菲特等富豪写下了先例，让他成为美国近代史上最富传奇色彩与争议性的人物之一。
创造垄断时代
这位垄断者的一举一动牵动着国际石油市场的每一根神经，他创建了一个史无前例的联合事业--托拉斯。约翰·洛克菲勒通过气势如虹的兼并和扩张垄断了美国的石油工业，而被人称为"石油大王"。世界首富比尔·盖茨把洛克菲勒作为自己惟一的崇拜对象："我心目中的赚钱英雄只有一个名字，那就是洛克菲勒。"洛克菲勒中心的53层摩天大楼坐落在美国纽约第五大道上。这里也是标准石油公司的所在地约翰·洛克菲勒。标准石油公司创立之初（1870年)仅有5个人，而今天该公司拥有股东30万，油轮500多艘，年收入已达五六百亿美元，可以说，这里的一举一动牵动着国际石油市场的每一根神经。整个中心犹如一个庞大的帝国，而这个帝国的奠基人就是洛克菲勒。 洛克菲勒创建了一个史无前例的联合事业--托拉斯。在这个托拉斯结构下，他合并了40多家厂商，垄断了全国80％的炼油工业和90％的油管生意。不久，托拉斯在全美各地、各行业野火般地迅速蔓延开来。显然，洛克菲勒成功地造就了美国历史上一个独特的时代--垄断时代。
