1. J D the ROCK
(sometimes referred to
as John D Rockefeller)

2. General Background
 Had a poor upbringing
 Started first job at age 16 as
a bookkeeper and worked his
way up from there
 Founded Standard Oil
Company in 1870
 Became filthy rich and lived
out the rest of his life as a
philanthropist
 Died happy, fat, old, and still
filthy rich in 1937   

3. Main Ideas
 Monopolize
 Vertical Integration (“from the drill to
the gas pump”)
 Horizontal Integration (Buying up all
other oil companies)

4. Tactics
 Secured the lowest shipping rates from
railroads
 Severely lowered prices to out-compete non-
cooperative, small competitors and then
bought them out
 Built/Owned any transportation or storage
that was necessary (bought tracts of land with
trees on them that were then used to build
barrels to store the oil, also built railroads
specifically for shipping his oil)

5. Tactics Continued
 Increased efficiency on all levels
 Utilized all waste products (used
leftovers from the oil refining process to
lubricate machinery)

6. Impact
Positive
 Lowered cost of oil products
 Cheap oil helped fuel the popularity and
and accessibility of cars for the growing
middle class
 Provided jobs for unskilled workers

7. Impact
Negative
 System was abusive to workers
 Stressful for small businesses (almost always
forced them out of business)
 Large monopolies contributed to the Great
Depression
 Society was far too dependent on a single
company

8. Quick Summary
 JD the Rock founded Standard Oil in
1870 which was a monopoly. It became
a monopoly through vertical/horizontal
integration (he bought up other oil
companies, and everything necessary
for the ENTIRE oil refining process). He
could control prices entirely on his own
which made him a very successful man.
Basically he was a genius.

9. WORKS CITED
 Hirshberg, Charles. The Four Horsemen. Rev. of Barrons.
3 Oct 2005: Platinum Periodicles, ProQuest. 22 Sept
2009.
 Klamm, Judith. The Tycoons: How Carnegie, Rockefeller,
Gould and Morgan Invented the American Supereconomy.
Rev. of Library Journal 1 Sep 2005: Platinum Periodicles,
ProQuest. Web. 22nd September 2009.
 Rigby, Rhymer. The Worlds First Oil Billionare.
Management Today. 1 August 1998: Platinum Periodicals,
ProQuest. 22nd September 2009.
 Treckel, Paula. Lady Muckraker. American History June
2001: 38-44. SIRS Researcher. Web. 20 September 2009.