Rockefeller was born on July 8, 1839 in New York. He was among one of the richest people in the world. He was involved in various projects, including the creation and development of the Standard Oil Company, which monopolized the oil industry. His business tactics were of some controversy and form of organization, but that didn't stop him from doing great things. He still donated a total of $540 million dollars to charitable purposes. .
Rockefeller lived in a modest environment and attended Central High School in Cleveland. When he was 21 years old, he became a trustee of the Euclid Avenue Baptist Church. When he left high school in 1855, he took a business course at Folsom Mercantile College and was employed as an assistant bookkeeper by Hewitt & Turtle. Eventually, he became the cashier and bookkeeper. With the money he had earned, he formed a partnership in the commission business with a man named Maurice Clark in 1859. The same year, the first oil well was drilled in western Pennsylvania. Soon, Cleveland became a major refining center and Rockefeller and Clark entered the business together as refiners. Then they teamed up with a man named Samuel Andrews and built and operated an oil refinery under the name of Andrews, Clark & Co. Unfortunately, they disagreed about their business practices and decided to sell their refinery. Rockefeller bought the refinery for $72, 500 and with Andrews, created Rockefeller & Andrews. The oil industry rapidly expanded since oil was a heavily used resource. In 1870, he created The Standard Oil Company and earned a capitol of $1 million. After a few years, the Standard Oil Co. purchased and controlled nearly all of the refining firms in Cleveland and New York. They had several storage tanks of oil, and manufactured about 29,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The company prospered and all properties were included in the Standard Oil Trust, with a capitol of $70 million.