Running head: ROCKEFELLER: INDUSTRIALIST, PHILANTHROPIST, AND 1
Rockefeller: Industrialist, Philanthropist, and Billionaire
Matthew Roane
Wilmington University
Principles of Management
BBM.201.DIS.B1T03.SP2015
Dr. Barksdale
February 25, 2015
ROCKEFELLER: INDUSTRIALIST, PHILANTHROPIST, AND 2
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to review the life of John Davison Rockefeller, review his
managerial style, and discuss how effective he was as a manager. Rockefeller was born on July
8, 1839 and passed away May 23, 1937. Rockefeller started his first business selling grain and
produce for commission in 1859 after forming a partnership with Maurice Clark. After several
successful years in business, Clark & Rockefeller met a chemist named Samuel Adams and
formed a new partnership that launched them into the oil refinement business. This partnership
ultimately changes their lives forever. In 1870 Rockefeller and his associates formed the
Standard Oil Company. Rockefeller was very precise. He was always calculating risk and
weighing them against the possible rewards of every situation that he encountered. Rockefeller
managed the Standard Oil Company the same way. This management style ultimately leads to
the major success of Standard Oil as well as the success of Rockefeller and all of his associates.
After reading about the great success of the Standard Oil Company, it is clear to see that
Rockefeller was the driving force behind its success. Without Rockefeller’s effective
management style Standard Oil would not have thrived the way it did.
ROCKEFELLER: INDUSTRIALIST, PHILANTHROPIST, AND 3
Rockefeller: Industrialist, Philanthropist, and Billionaire
History:
John Davison Rockefeller was the prodigy of William Avery Rockefeller and Eliza
Davison Avery; he was born on July 8, 1839 in Richford New York. Approximately 10 years
after his birth in 1849 John moved with his family to Owego, New York. Even though John was
only 10 when his family moved, he started working. He performed odd jobs for neighbors and
helped his mother raise turkeys. At just 12 years old John managed to save over $50 dollars
from all the work he had been doing over the past couple years. It was at this time that John
agreed to loan a local farmer $50 for one year. After one year, the farmer was to pay John his
$50 dollars back plus an additional 7% percent in interest. Once this transaction was complete
John found himself extremely impressed and stated so in 1904 when he said “The impression
was gaining ground with me that it was a good thing to let the money be my servant and not
make myself a slave to the money….”(Poole, n.d.).
In 1852 John began attending high school at Owego Academy. It was here that John
made great progress in performing mental arithmetic, the branch of mathematics dealing with the
properties and manipulation of numbers. This talent would prove to be extremely valuable later
on in his business dealings. Once again in 1853 John was forced to move with his family. This
time they moved to Strongsville, Ohio. Strongsville was a small town outside of Cleveland,
Ohio. While his family lived in Strongsville John rented a small room in the city of Cleveland
that allowed him to attend Central High School. John attended Central High for roughly two
years before he decided to drop out a couple months before graduation to attend Folsom
Mercantile College. At Folsom John studied double-entry book keeping, penmanship, banking,
and commercial law. After completing a six-month program John managed to find a job at
Hewitt & Tuttle. Hewitt & Tuttle was a small firm of merchants and produce shippers that
profited from the commission they made on sales. After three months without pay John was
finally given $50 dollars and told that from that point on he would be paid $25 dollars a month.
(The Rockefeller Archive Center, 1967).
Several years later in 1859 after working various positions at Hewitt & Tuttle, John
decided to start his own business with a neighbor Maurice B. Clark. In order to do this John
borrowed $1,000 dollars from his dad, combined it with $1,000 dollars that he had saved, and
with their money combined Maurice B. Clark and John Rockefeller started a business selling
produce and grain for commission called Clark & Rockefeller. (The Rockefeller Archive Center,
1967). Since Clark & Rockefeller earned their money from commission neither of them took
risks. Rockefeller was hardworking, methodical, and precise. He always calculated and planned
