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40 facts about John D. Rockefeller, the richest American of all time

Larry Holzwarth July 5, 2019 35 min

40. John Rockefeller was a man of contradictions and convictions

John D. Rockefeller painted during his retirement, at his Ormond Beach winter home in Florida. Wikimedia

A deeply religious and in his mind moral man of his day, Rockefeller could and did crush opponents to his wishes with a ruthlessness seldom seen before Standard Oil. His wealth was greater than any other person in American history, yet he favored taking the train to work, despite being one of the most famous and recognizable people in America. He was pious, often quoting the Bible which he read every day, but found no problem with Christ’s prediction of the difficulty a rich man would have entering heaven. The son of a con man father and a pious mother, throughout his life he demonstrated that he had learned much from both, and he put those lessons to work for all of his long life.

Where do we find this stuff? Here are our sources:

“Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.” Ron Chernow. 1998

“John D. Rockefeller Was The Richest Person To Ever Live. Period.”. Kat Eschner, Smithsonian.com. January 10, 2017

“Biography: John D. Rockefeller Sr.” The American Experience, Public Broadcasting System. Online

“Random Reminiscences of Men and Events”. John D. Rockefeller Sr. 1908

“John D. Rockefeller: The Cleveland Years”. Grace Goulder. 1972

“The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power”. Daniel Yergin. 1991

“The History of the Standard Oil Company”. Ida M. Tarbell. 1904

“John D. The Founding Father of the Rockefellers”. David Freeman Hawke. 1980

“Frederick T. Gates and John D. Rockefeller”. Allan Nevins, American Heritage Magazine. April, 1955

“Wall Street History: Railroads and Rockefeller”. Andrew Beattie, Investopedia. May 12, 2010. Online

“John D. Rockefeller”. Entry, History.com. Online