Who is Rockefeller briefly? John Rockefeller - biography and success story. The hidden soulfulness of a multimillionaire philanthropist

Hello! As always, Ruslan Miftakhov welcomes you! Surely today there are no people who do not know about richest man in the world throughout history - John Rockefeller, whose fortune, taking into account inflation, would now be about 200 billion dollars. Can you put this on yourself?

Today I decided to tell you about Rockefeller’s golden 12 rules and talk about the secret of his success. I believe that everyone who is interested in increasing their income (and this is most likely the majority!) will be interested in this article.

To begin with, I would like to give some facts from his life and upbringing in order to understand: where did it all start, how did you manage to earn so much? And then we will look in detail at the treasured list of his golden rules, which he always followed himself and advised everyone else to do the same.

John was born in New York State on July 8, 1839. His family, in particular his mother, instilled in him from childhood the basic principles of life, which he followed until his death.

Since childhood, the boy has learned in practice the basic principles of economics, one of which is to buy cheaper in bulk.

An interesting fact from the biography of the future billionaire: with the money given to him for his birthday, he bought candies, and then sold them one at a time to his sisters “at a premium.” The teachers did not like the boy’s “business”, but no one forced the sisters to buy candy, and they could do it themselves.

When the boy was about seven years old, he learned another rule of business: any work can bring income. He raised turkeys and then sold them to his neighbors at a profit. Is this bad business? However, nowadays it is difficult to find such an independent child as John was.

The boy did not spend the money he received for the turkeys, and did not just put it under his pillow, but lent it to a neighbor, receiving 7% from it. This lesson learned will then become part of one of his rules about passive income.

But don't think that John was a callous person. He was very upset when one of his sisters died. He was very sensitive, responsive, and thanks to his mother, a believer. And he always gave 10% of his income to those in need, and also built several universities, colleges and churches.

Not only the mother, but also the father, who led a riotous lifestyle, influenced the boy’s upbringing. Rockefeller, who looked at his drinking father and his mother’s suffering, forever decided to lead a healthy and correct lifestyle, was a faithful husband and a wonderful father to his children.

How did you manage to earn a huge fortune?

John did not even finish college, and at the age of 16, after completing a 3-month accounting course, he went to work as an assistant accountant, after a month and a half of searching, in Cleveland, where his whole family lived. Later he was offered the position of chief accountant, but he always wanted to work for himself and refused it.

During the American Civil War (1861-1865), Rockefeller and his companion Clark were engaged in supplying food for soldiers, from which they made a small capital. And in 1864 they began to engage in oil, deposits of which were discovered near Cleveland.

Clark was not a risk-taker, and was afraid to pursue only oil, as John wanted. And then, having bought out his partner’s share for $72,500, and not being afraid to take out a loan, Rockefeller went into the oil business. He founded the Standard Oil Company in 1870 and managed it skillfully until his retirement in 1897.

This is how John Rockefeller earned his capital, but he never became arrogant. He died at the age of 97 (in 1937), and according to his will, his descendants are still involved in charity work.

He promised it would be brief, but he dragged on a little with the life stories of such a great man, among which there are a lot of instructive moments.

Now let's get down to the treasured list.

Rockefeller's 12 golden rules

John wrote a book called “Memoirs” in 1908, in which he talked about his life path, success stories, how to get rich, and also described the ethical and moral principles by which he lived.

So, let's take a closer look at its basic rules:

These are the rules that allow you to achieve not only a good financial position, but also a successful and joyful life. They are very useful for everyone. Of course, some may disagree with them and come up with various excuses.

But this is everyone's business. I believe that you should learn from the advice of people who have really achieved a lot. And their advice is not just words, but actually proven actions.

I hope these rules help you achieve your goals! Good luck to all!

Until next time.

Best regards, Ruslan Miftakhov

John Davison Rockefeller was born on July 8, 1839 in New York. When he was very young, the family moved to Pennsylvania. John D.'s mother raised him in the fear of God and in strict Baptist laws.

The father was an entrepreneur. Not always successful, but able to combine frequent risk with accumulation. There is an opinion that the ostentatious chic and egocentrism of the parent forced John Davison to avoid such an image in every possible way and strive for. Often the family lived in debt, which made John D. ashamed of his father (again according to some researchers). But there is also evidence from the future billionaire himself, which suggests that his father played a decisive positive role in John’s life:

He often bargained with me and bought various services from me. He taught me how to buy and sell. My father was just training me to get rich!

Rockefeller Sr. did not like physical labor and tried to earn money with his mind.

The father told his son about his business, explained the principles, and although he himself was not the most successful in business, his son early years I managed to learn a lot. For example, judging by his future career young man, he learned that morality and fairness in business are very relative concepts, and if there is a goal, then much can be sacrificed for the sake of it.

Studying at school was difficult for him, but hard work covered all the shortcomings.

Growing up in a religious family (according to ) made John Davison a teetotaler who avoided gambling and dancing. Being the eldest child, he had to become the family breadwinner in his youth. The first job that John D. got was as an accounting assistant (before that, the boy worked part-time by feeding turkeys and working on a farm).

To get this job, John dropped out of college and took a three-month accounting course. This was his only paid job.

Having borrowed money from his father (at 10%), Rockefeller became a junior partner in an agricultural company, which he led to the business of refining oil into kerosene (which was becoming a very popular means for lighting lamps).

Creation of Standard Oil

John D.'s silence inspired the government to legalize the monopoly issue and dismember the Rockefeller empire. Despite this, John Davison's financial assets only increased from this: having divided Standard Oil into 34 small companies at the request of the authorities, he retained a controlling stake in all of them. Interestingly, most of the modern ones are descended from these 34 pieces of Standard Oil, such as ExxonMobil, .

Theodore Roosevelt launched a series of lawsuits against Standard Oil, which he relied on, which was allowed, Rockefeller-style, to buy up steel mills to create a United States Steel monopoly.

Richest man

To this day, John D. is considered the richest man on the planet and the most generous philanthropist (he paid for medical research; Chicago and Rockefeller universities were founded with his money). Back in 1917, Rockefeller's capital was 20% more than the annual US budget. No businessman has ever achieved such heights. He sponsored the construction of the UN headquarters in New York, which determined the enormous influence of the United States on this organization.

D. Rockefeller died at the age of 97. His family (clan) is still considered one of the most influential in the world.

The $900 million oil tycoon's career began as a $25-a-month courier. Having started working at the age of sixteen, John Davison Rockefeller - later the richest man in the world - three years later he opened his own company, and in 1862 he went into the oil business.

Having bought out the companies of almost all local competitors, he set his sights on creating a national oil company with a national supply network. The embodiment of his plan was Standard Oil, which in 1879 controlled 90% of the US oil refining industry.

In 1897, he retired from active management of the organization and remained president of Standard Oil until 1911, when the US government finally liquidated the company. Last years devoted his life to distributing the bulk of his enormous fortune.

Biography. John D. Rockefeller was born in 1839 in Richford, Tioga County, New York. His parents were farmers, and John Rockefeller (the eldest son and second of six children) was expected to help farm the farm along with his siblings.

But even in at a young age John Rockefeller showed remarkable commercial ability. He bred and sold turkeys, and lent the proceeds at 7%.

When John Rockefeller was fourteen years old, the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. After graduating high school and Folsom Commerce College, he got a job as a courier and assistant bookkeeper for the firm of Hewitt & Tuttle, which represented wholesale commission agents.

No one discussed the issue with the future employee wages, and the guy worked for free for almost three months. After that, he was given 50 dollars and the rate was set: 25 dollars a month.

Future billionaire John Rockefeller worked at Hewitt & Tuttle for three years and left after the firm refused to meet his salary demands - John wanted to be paid $800 a year. This time he decided to open his own company.

John Rockefeller is the richest man in the world

Way to success. Having borrowed $1,000 from his father at 10% interest per annum, John Rockefeller and his partner Morris Clark began to engage in agricultural products. He literally charmed the surrounding farmers, so that in the first year of operation (1859) the company's profit reached 500 thousand dollars.

At that time, the oil industry in Ohio was just beginning to gain momentum. Several oil refineries opened near Cleveland. John Rockefeller immediately realized the possibilities that lay ahead the new kind fuel, and wasted no time in opening the oil refining company Andrews, Clark and Co. in 1862.

He later sold his production commission rights to Clark, bought a partner's interest in Andrews, Clark and Co., and founded Rockefeller & Andrews.

By 1869, Rockefeller's company had already acquired a number of other small firms that worked in the same field, and became known as Rockefeller, Andrews & Flagler. However, the oil refining industry as a whole was not experiencing better times. Every day everything appeared more companies who want to engage in oil refining. Its price dropped so much that many companies went bankrupt.

But this did not scare John Rockefeller. In 1869, he decided to merge Rockefeller, Andrews & Flagler with the Standard Oil Company of Ohio and became president of the company, which had a capital stock of $1 million.

John Rockefeller then continued the “combined” strategy that he had successfully implemented in the steel industry. He concluded that The best way ensure the survival of the company in the current conditions - distribute the risks associated with activities in an unstable area.

In order to achieve this goal, the most sensible thing was to acquire all competing companies - both local and all other US oil refining firms. By 1872, Standard Oil already owned all of Cleveland's oil refineries.

Standard Oil Trust's dominant position has drawn a torrent of criticism. In 1892, Ohio's chief prosecutor won a case to dissolve the trust.

From 1890, while the case continued in court, John Rockefeller was in a state of severe stress. He was completely bald, he didn't even have eyebrows left. It was rumored that he suffered from a nervous disorder.

However, the Standard Oil Company was largely unaffected: it was simply converted to the Standard Oil Company (New Jersey), since under New Jersey law the parent company could own a number of other companies. Standard Oil Company controlled 75% of the US oil refining industry.

John Rockefeller was president of Standard Oil until 1911, when the US Supreme Court finally ordered the trust to be dissolved, declaring that the company had violated US antitrust laws. Thirty-eight organizations that formed a giant oil refining trust became independent entities.

During his lifetime, Rockefeller was often criticized, and all sorts of fables were written about him. For example, it was widely believed that he lived only on bread and milk. It was believed that he had a phenomenal capacity for work, that hard work did not tire him.

The entrepreneur himself insisted that he didn’t even know what he was talking about. we're talking about: “People stubbornly continue to think that I was a 100% workaholic who worked constantly, day and night, at any time of the year. In fact, as I approached the age of thirty-five, I became what would now be called a quitter. Never, since the first time I entered my office, have I allowed work to absorb all my time and attention.”

John Rockefeller devoted his last years to charitable activities. He gave more than $35 million to the University of Chicago, founded the Medical Research Institute, the Foundation and the Sanitary Commission, which fought hookworm in the southern United States. At that time, his fortune was estimated at $900 million.

He died May 23, 1937, at his home in Ormond Beach. By that time, he had distributed almost all of his fortune, leaving only $26,410,837.

Summary. John D. Rockefeller is the founder of the modern oil refining industry. His business activities may not have been as visible as those who invented electric lighting or his Model T automobile. But without Standard Oil's cheap gasoline, neither the large-scale electrification of the country nor the mass marketing of automobiles would have occurred.

Realizing that one of the most important factors success - the professionalism of its employees, Rockefeller assembled a team of the most talented businessmen. He often said: “An organization is made up of people, not machines.”

Subsequently, he was unfairly accused of heading one of the most hated industries in the United States, where trusts are in charge. However, we must not forget that Standard Oil was founded at a difficult time for the industry and increased its influence over several decades.

Today I will tell you about how I made my fortune - the first dollar billionaire, the richest person in the world in the entire history of mankind. To this day, the name of this man is a symbol of wealth. John Davison Rockefeller lived in the second half of the 19th and first half of the 20th century, but still heads.

The first billionaire of our time to lead - Bill Gates lags behind him in terms of level financial condition more than 4 times! Biography and success story of John Rockefeller, the most Interesting Facts from life in today's publication on Financial Genius.

John Rockefeller: biography. Childhood.

John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (later he had a son with the same name) was born in 1839 in Richford, New York. His parents were very religious (Protestants), the family was large: a total of 6 children were born, of whom John Rockefeller was the second. John's father had a small capital, but often left for long periods of time, selling elixirs; during these periods, his mother was poor and saved a lot on everything.

From childhood, mother, father and the priest, whom the Rockefeller family often visited, taught their children to take care of personal finances, work and earn money on their own. From an early age, business became one of the main areas of family education for John.

His father often paid him for various services, while bargaining. At a very young age, Rockefeller was already buying a pound of candy, then distributing it into piles and reselling it to his sisters at a higher price. At the age of 7, he began working part-time for his neighbors, digging potatoes for them, and raising turkeys for sale. Since childhood, John Davison Rockefeller wrote down all his income and expenses in a small book, and put all the money he earned into his piggy bank. By the way, he kept and continued to maintain his home accounting, the maintenance of which began from an early age.

At the age of 13, John Rockefeller saved up $50 and lent it to a farmer he knew at 7.5% per annum.

John successfully graduated from school, after which he entered college, which taught the basics of accounting and commerce, but soon decided that he would only waste time there, so he left college and instead completed a three-month accounting course, after which he began.

John Rockefeller: biography. Career and entrepreneurship.

John Rockefeller got his first serious job at the age of 16, after 6 weeks of searching: he first became an assistant accountant in a trading company with wages 17 dollars, and was soon promoted to accountant with a salary of 25 dollars a month. Rockefeller proved himself so well in this place that after some time, when the head of the company left his post, John became the manager of this company with a salary of $600. However, Rockefeller did not like the fact that the previous manager was paid $2,000 a month, and he was only paid $600, so he soon quit.

This job became the only place of employment in the biography of John Rockefeller.

In 1857, Rockefeller learned that an entrepreneur from England was looking for a business partner with a capital of $2,000. At that time, he only had $800, but he was inspired by this idea, so he borrowed the missing money from his father at 10% per annum and became the junior co-founder of the Clark and Rochester company, which specialized in the sale of hay, grain, meat and some others goods.

When the company had a need to borrow to increase working capital, negotiations with the bank were conducted by John Rockefeller: thanks to his sincerity and talent for persuasion, he was able to convince the manager to provide their still young company with a loan in the required amount.

John Davison Rockefeller: oil business.

At the beginning of the 2nd half of the 19th century, kerosene lamps became popular in the United States, which stimulated an increase in demand for the main raw material for their production - oil. During this period, John Davison Rockefeller met the practicing chemist Samuel Andrews, who specialized in the processing of petroleum raw materials and predicted a big increase popularity of kerosene as a lighting product. They combined their capital with that of Rockefeller's business partner Clark and created the oil refining company Andrews and Clark.

John Rockefeller saw great prospects oil market and tried to persuade Clark to transfer all his available capital to this business. When he still refused, Rockefeller bought out his share in the enterprise for $72,500 and devoted himself entirely to the oil business.

In 1870, John Davison Rockefeller Sr. created his main oil company– Standard Oil, which in the future brought him his main wealth. This company has already carried out full cycle: from oil production to production and supply of the final product.

At his company, John Rockefeller introduced a non-standard system: instead of wages, he paid employees with company shares, which constantly grew in price and brought good income. It turned out that the employees themselves were interested in doing their work diligently and efficiently: after all, the success of the company depended on this, and therefore the increase in the price of its shares and their personal income.

The Standard Oil company developed rapidly, increasing its turnover, and John Rockefeller began to invest the profits received from its activities in other oil companies. He found an opportunity to dump on the cost of transporting products by agreeing with railway transport companies, which his competitors could not afford. Therefore, Rockefeller presented his competitors with a choice: either merge with him or go bankrupt. So many of them gradually became part of Standard Oil.

In just 10 years, John Rockefeller's company became an almost absolute monopolist in the United States: it concentrated 95% of the country's oil production. After this, Rockefeller raised prices for his products and Standard Oil became the largest oil company in the world.

Another 10 years later, in 1890, an antitrust law was adopted in the United States. At first, the oil tycoon bypassed his norms in every possible way, but when he could no longer resist the authorities, 21 years later, in 1911, he divided his corporation into 34 enterprises, retaining a controlling stake in each of them.

The Standard Oil company brought Rockefeller a profit of $3 million annually (in today's money, that's billions). The corporation's assets included:

– more than 400 enterprises;

– more than 90 miles of railway tracks;

– more than 10 thousand railway tanks;

– 60 oil tankers;

– 150 ships.

The company's share in global oil turnover exceeded 70%.

John Rockefeller: net worth.

Oil tycoon John Rockefeller's fortune was estimated at $1.4 billion, or $318 billion in today's US currency. At the time of his death, Rockefeller's fortune amounted to 1.54% of US GDP, and in 1917 it reached 2.5% of US GDP.

In addition to Standard Oil, John Rockefeller's assets included:

– 16 railway companies;

– 6 steel production companies;

– 9 companies engaged in real estate trading;

– 6 shipping companies;

– 9 banks;

– 3 orange groves.

Rockefeller lived richly, but never focused on his wealth. He had several villas and houses in different states, a land plot of 273 hectares, and a personal golf course.

John Rockefeller: charity.

From his earliest years, John Rockefeller consistently used 10% of his income to donate to the Baptist Church. Over the course of his life, he transferred more than $100 million there.

In addition, Rockefeller donated about $80 million to the University of Chicago, he also created and sponsored the New York Institute for Medical Research, and later founded the famous charitable foundation Rockefeller.

At the end of his life, John Rockefeller gave away about half a billion dollars to charity.

John Rockefeller Jr.

John Davison Rockefeller Jr. is The only son John Rockefeller. He inherited $460 million from his father, and spent about this amount on charity throughout his life. In particular, thanks to his donations, the UN headquarters in New York and the famous Empire Building were built.

John Rockefeller Jr. left behind 5 sons (known as the Rockefeller grandchildren) and a daughter. Each of them has its own story, but all are somehow connected with running a business.

John Rockefeller: interesting facts.

Since childhood, John Rockefeller dreamed of living to be 100 years old and earning 100 thousand dollars, but he only lived to be 97 years old and earned 1.4 billion.

At the age of 96, John Davison Rockefeller received an insurance payout of $5 million as a person who lived to that age. The probability of such a “ insured event“The insurance company estimated it at 1:100,000, and this was the first such case in the company’s history.

In 1908, John Rockefeller wrote a book, Memoirs, in which he described his life path, your success story. To this day, the Memoirs of John Rockefeller is a very popular book, published many times in huge editions, highly appreciated by readers and critics.

Workers of the Rockefeller company used to scare their children with it: “If you cry, Rockefeller will take you.”

What John Rockefeller was most proud of was not his wealth and achievements, but his morals, which he considered impeccable.

Most famous quotes John Rockefeller:

– He who works all day has no time to earn money;

– Your well-being depends on your own decisions;

– If your only goal is to become rich, you will never achieve it.

Here it is - the biography and success story of John Rockefeller - the richest man on earth, an oil tycoon.

Stay on, improve your financial literacy, learn to use personal finance competently and effectively, and perhaps someday you too will be able to achieve at least a small fraction of what John Davison Rockefeller achieved in life. See you again!

The name John Rockefeller is known to almost every person. Few people in modern world I haven’t heard of his famous “12 golden rules”, which were invented a long time ago, but have not lost their relevance until today.

John Rockefeller was born on July 8, 1839 in New York State. The father practically did not raise his son, since almost all of him free time spent on entertainment and women of dubious reputation.

But my mother, on the contrary, put her whole soul into raising her beloved son. It was she, together with the priest, who instilled in the boy the basic principles of life from early childhood. Later, John Rockefeller spoke about economy and work: “Life is constant work. But the main thing is not only to earn money, you need to be able to save - this will help you save what you earn.”

When the billionaire passed away, Rockefeller's fortune was estimated at $1.4 billion. In 2006 prices, this amount was equivalent to 192 billion. What capital! Yes, perhaps it’s worth taking a closer look at the 12 Golden Rules.

The life principles that mother laid in little John Rockefeller back in early childhood, he was able to carry it through his entire life. They became the basis of the famous “12 golden rules”.

Little John made his first money by buying own funds candies and then resold them. Well done, you say. Perhaps, but he sold them to his younger sisters. In this first small business The future billionaire was governed by the law of surplus value, the basic law of entrepreneurship. Little John learned from his own experience that buying in bulk means saving money. This is how he learned to “make money” and learned the basics of trading - through practice, and not by reading economic works.

The money increased significantly. And yet, many teachers will probably find this way of earning money disgusting. Although for those who pass a disappointing verdict on a child who sells candy to his own sisters at a price higher than the purchase price, it is quite possible to object.

• Firstly, sweets are far from being an essential item; you can do without them.
• Secondly, perhaps the girls were simply too lazy to go to the store themselves to buy candy.
• Thirdly, they bought one piece of candy from their brother, thinking that this way they would spend less money on the treat.

The girls simply could not think as globally as their brother.

When John was seven years old, he decided to get into production, raising turkeys in his backyard and then selling them very profitably to his neighbors. This allowed the future multimillionaire to formulate one of the rules of doing business: any work brings income.

Then the future, or perhaps even the current, entrepreneur lent the $50 he earned to his neighbor, which brought him an additional 7% per annum. And as a pleasant bonus, there is one more rule of business: money should not lie idle - it must constantly “work”, generating income!

The hidden soulfulness of a multimillionaire philanthropist

Little John was not at all a callous and soulless child, but quite the contrary, he had a sensitive and vulnerable soul, capable of compassion and emotion. When his sister died, he was so shocked by this misfortune that he ran away from everyone, fell face down on the ground and lay there all day.

John Davis Rockefeller grew up, but remained just as sensitive and responsive. In his early youth, he was attracted to one girl from his class, with whom he really didn’t succeed. Much later, she was left a widow and in dire need of money. John found out about this completely by accident and awarded the unfortunate woman a pension.

This is far from the only example of generosity shown by John. His mother was a deeply religious person and managed to instill in her son a sincere faith in God. Rockefeller regularly donated a tenth of his income to the church. In addition, he financed the construction of Spelman College, the University of Chicago, Rockefeller University, the Museum of Modern Art and many monasteries throughout the country. Through the Rockefeller Foundation, the richest man in the world donated fabulous sums for the development of medicine. He, in particular, financed numerous projects to combat yellow fever. In all cases of charitable donations, John Davis Rockefeller required that his participation in a particular program remain a secret from the public.

The descendants of the outstanding founder of the Rockefeller clan continue to be actively involved in charity work today. The tithing law became one of John Rockefeller's 12 Golden Rules.

A negative example is also an example

John Rockefeller, while still just a child, learned several more rules that he did not change even as an adult. The boy's father drank constantly, causing John's mother to suffer from it all her life. Healthy image life became one of Rockefeller’s rules, following which he completely abandoned alcohol and tobacco.

The father, by his example, “taught” his son another rule. The boy spent his entire childhood observing his father’s wild lifestyle and made a firm decision for himself never to repeat such mistakes. The “negative example” worked 100%, and Rockefeller became an exemplary father and faithful husband.
John owes his father the most important rule of doing business, about which the billionaire himself said: “He often bargained with me and bought various services from me. He taught me how to buy and sell. My father was simply “training” me to get rich!”

Businessmen are not born, they are raised

John Rockefeller was married only once to Laura Celestina Spelman, with whom they had four children: three daughters and a son. John loved his wife very much and remained faithful to her throughout his life. He said that without Laura's advice he would never have been able to achieve such success; he would simply be doomed to poverty.

The approach to raising children in the Rockefeller family was very original and was based, naturally, on the “12 golden rules” of the father of the family.

The entire organization of the life of the little Rockefellers was based on work. But John instilled a love of work in his children through material incentives. For example, each child received a few cents for killing a fly, sharpening a pencil, getting a good grade in school, or studying music. Work in the garden beds was especially highly valued.

Second rule education was to teach children to be unpretentious, and again through monetary bonuses. If you gave up candy for the whole day, you could count on an additional reward.

Third rule involved instilling precision, accuracy and responsibility in children. Anyone who was late to the table, did not carry out an assignment, or simply did not obey had to pay a fine.

The young Rockefellers lived in some semblance market economy. One of the daughters, Laura, played the role of “company director”. She, along with the other children, kept her own ledger, wrote reports and kept balance sheets.

Rockefeller Sr. believed that without the ability to save correctly it is simply impossible to achieve success. It's no surprise that this became one of the "12 Golden Rules."

John Rockefeller's success story

At one time, John Rockefeller often said: “To achieve success, you need to work not only with your hands, but also with your head.” The success story of the multimillionaire himself became a vivid illustration of this rule.

When John turned 16, he decided not to go to college, but to go straight to work. The Rockefeller family then lived in Cleveland, where the young man completed a three-month accounting course and immediately began searching for a suitable place. Luck smiled at him only a month and a half later, when John was offered the position of assistant accountant at the Hewitt and Tuttle trading company. Career of a talented young specialist went up and after a while he was offered the position of chief accountant. But bad luck, Rockefeller’s salary in his new place was supposed to be several times lower than that of his predecessor, which offended him terribly. Pride did not allow John to accept such a humiliating offer in his opinion.

This was Rockefeller's only experience as an employee. After that, he was always his own boss and subordinate, which allowed him to achieve such amazing success.
In 1861, the USA began Civil War. Then John Rockefeller, together with his partner, Clark, was engaged in supplying pork, flour, salt and other products to regular army units. During four years of hostilities, they managed to make a decent fortune.

But the real breakthrough for the business partners was the discovery of oil deposits near Cleveland. In 1864, Clark and Rockefeller were already trading Pennsylvania oil with all their might. John realized that this was a real Goldmine” and suggested that Clark concentrate his entire business on selling oil, but he refused due to the banal fear of “burning out.” Rockefeller was not one to give in to difficulties. Having been refused, the future billionaire bought out his partner’s share in the joint venture for $72.5 thousand and focused all his attention on the oil business.

All future life John Rockefeller can easily be written in just a few lines. 1870 - founded the Standard Oil company, becoming its manager. 1897 - John Rockefeller retired.

Today, the Rockefellers have combined their fortunes with another of the richest dynasties, the Rothschilds. But the descendants of John Rockefeller, a talented entrepreneur, multimillionaire, never received higher education, his “12 golden rules” are still remembered and revered.

If you want to be rich, be it!

So, what are these magical “12 golden rules”? In fact, these are just quotes from John Rockefeller. But everyone who wants to be rich and successful must know, remember, understand and accept them.

• Work less for others. The more you work for others, the faster you lose money. “Work” comes from the word “slave.”
• The ability to save is a step towards success. Buy goods strictly according to the list, which must be prepared in advance. You need to buy in bulk or wherever it is cheaper.
• If you don't have money, it's time to start a business. If there is no money at all, you need to do this as quickly as possible.
• Success and great wealth come through passive income.
• Dream big. For example, earn at least 50 thousand dollars a month.
• Other people bring us money. If you want to be rich, be friendly. An unsociable person cannot count on success.
• Surround yourself with winners and optimists. A poor environment is a direct path to poverty.
• There are no and cannot be excuses for postponing the first step towards your goal.
• Read more about rich people. Success stories and thoughts successful people will help you fulfill your desires.
• Dream and believe that your dreams will come true. If you stop dreaming, you will start dying.
• Help those in need. Help not for money, but just because. Give 10% of your income to charity.
• Build your business and enjoy the money you earn. You need to work in order to live, and not “put money under the mattress.”

These rules became “golden” because they were actually tested by the first richest man in the world. They will never lose their relevance.