Life of John D. Rockefeller and his legacy Term Paper

Life of John D. Rockefeller and his legacy - Term Paper Example One may criticize John D. Rockefeller for many things, like being one of the first to have started a monopoly or oligopoly businesses, yet when his services or assistance to communities and nations are taken into accounted, one can also say that his legacy of sustained philanthropy is probably unmatched for longevity and volume of assistance of assistance rendered. Yet not only is his own life is criticized for his role in history but the role of his descendants. John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil John D. Rockefeller Sr. , former school dropout and who became perhaps the richest person during his time, is the Rockefeller patriarch or the seed that produced other Rockefellers of great significance and who have equally created their own legacy by sustaining the legacy of John D. Rockefeller Sr. (PBS, 2000). The other Rockefellers who have contributed their important legacies or who have sustained the John D. Rockefeller Sr. Legacy are John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (1874-1960), son of John D. Rockefeller, Sr., and the Rockefeller brothers John III (1906-78), Nelson (1908-1979), Laurance (1910-2004), Winthrop (1912-1973), and David Rockefeller (1915-?), sons of John D. Rockefeller, Jr.The patriarch was â€Å"twenty-three years old and already a success in his profitable commission business when he decided to risk $4,000 in a speculative oil refinery operation in Cleveland† (Armentano, 1981, p. 58). This was probably in 1862. When John D. Rockefeller began his business, both the Petroleum industry and the Standard Oil Company were â€Å"inchoate† (Montague, 1904, p. 4). ... 4). However, according to Armentano (1981, p. 58), â€Å"the firm quickly prospered under the technical direction of Samuel Andrews, and a second refinery was constructed in 1866.† In a short while, â€Å"Maurice Clark, one of the original partners in the firm, was bought out (for $72,500), and Rockefeller brought in his brother William for entrepreneurial know-how and his shrewd and wealthy friend, Henry Flagler, for additional capital† (Armentano, 1981, p. 58). It was only in 1868, however, that John D. Rockefeller deployed his â€Å"complete and undivided attention† to the petroleum business (Armentano, 1981, p. 58). Armentano (1981, p 58) asserted that â€Å"the firm of Rockefeller, Andrews, and Flagler prospered quickly in the intensely competitive industry by the economic excellence of its entire operations.† The firm implemented a business that is relatively unique in the industry during the period. Armentano (1981, p. 58) revealed that â€Å"inste ad of buying oil from jobbers, they made the jobbers’ profit by sending their own purchasing men into the oil region.† Further, â€Å"they made their own sulfuric acid, their own barrels, their own lumber, their own wagons, and their own glue† (Armentano, 1981, p. 58). Armentano documented that that firm â€Å"kept minute and accurate records of ever item from rivets to barrel bungs† (1981, p. 58). In short, what Armentano has tried to narrate is that the firm organized by John D. Rockefeller Sr. implemented vertical integration as well as good management practices. Breakup of Standard Oil and Development Larson (1969) explained that from 1882 to 1950, the Standard Oil Company founded by John D. Rockefeller had been keen on vertical integration. Luck and shrewdness mattered but the oil firm