John D. Rockefeller
Biography -
Rockefeller, born in 1839, went from a bookkeeper to the creation of the Standard Oil Co. He was a monopolist, and his company was a prime example of a monopoly. A monopoly is the control of markets by the organization of trusts. It is a practice of horizontal integration: allying with competitors to monopolize a given market. His competitive company of trusts would make him the richest man in the world and a robber baron during the Gilded Age.
Standard Oil Co. -
The Oil Industry was lifted first by kerosene, the internal combustion engine, and the first automobile. The Standard Oil Company was established in 1870 in attempt to eliminate competitors by simply buying them out. Under the practice of horizontal integration, Standard Oil prospered by control of the various oil refineries and hardly any competition. They soon ruled over the whole oil industry of the US (95%). Rockefeller's aggressive practices made him powerful and resulted in hostility of monopolies by many people. His monopoly was later recognized by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional due to violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act: a measure passed by Congress to prohibit trusts.
Impacts -
- became the richest man in the world
- became America's first billionare
- funded medical research to attack chronic disease
- devoted to philanthropy (led to creation of University of Chicago)