THE WEALTHIEST MAN
IN THE WORLD

THE OIL BUSINESS

At the age of 16, John had already become an accountant, and worked from dawn till dusk in a grain trading company. He earned the significant figure of $600 a year, and decided to ask for a pay rise of $200. As it was not granted, he left the company and decided to set up his own business. The firm, Clark & ​​Rockefeller, earned $4,000 in its first year and $16,000 in the second, but Rockefeller’s astute business sense and innate intelligence led him to focus on oil, understanding that it would soon become the main source of energy on the planet.

In 1862, Rockefeller invested his savings in building his first refinery in Cleveland, and soon after, he began buying up others. The American Civil War was the boost he needed in his business. The tycoon extracted the oil, refined it, and transported it. In 1870, he created Standard Oil Company and soon began to refine a quarter of the country’s oil production. He pulled off quite a coup when he bought 22 of the 25 Cleveland refineries, thanks to his competitors either selling him their refineries or partnering with him. Eight years later, he already controlled 90% of the country’s refineries. With the creation of the Standard Oil Trust, the business expanded to the point of controlling a large part of the world’s oil, which would make him the richest man on the planet.