Ľudia, ktorí zmenili svet People who changed the world
An American industrialist, philanthropist, the richest person in
history. What is so interesting about this man, when even 76
years after his death, he is still an example for many business
men as well as for many “common” people?
Mária Synáková
“To work, to save and to give.”
John Davison Rockefeller was born in 1839 in Richford,
New York as the second of six children. His father worked as lumberman and
later as a travelling salesman. Mother Eliza was
a homemaker. Already in
childhood, young Rockefeller knew how to earn
some extra money. He
was raising turkeys, selling
potatoes and candy and
thanks to his savings, he
could lend money to his
neighbour who gave them
back also with an interest.
“The secret to success is to do the common things
uncommonly well.”
It was not surprise that young Rockefeller started his career as a bookkeeper, because he displayed an excellent
mind for numbers and detailed accounting. However,
his ambitions were higher. When he was 20 years old,
he started a business with his business partner. In 1859
he did not hesitate and exploited a great opportunity
in the field of crude oil output. He founded a company
called Standard Oil, which dominated the oil industry
and was first great U.S. business trust. This company
became in few years a monopoly mainly tha