How The Rockefellers Went From "New Money" to "Old Money"

Описание: The Rockefeller Family has accomplished what the Vanderbilts and Goulds could not—transforming volatile industrial wealth into permanent multigenerational influence that neither government action nor family foolishness can destroy.

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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Introduction
1:22 Chapter 1: Forged Between Faith and Fraud
4:52 Chapter 2: Apprenticeship in Capitalism
8:21 Chapter 3: Standard Oil Ascends
12:05 Chapter 4: New Money Excess vs Rockefeller Restraint
15:42 Chapter 5: Junior, The Heir and Builder
19:24 Chapter 6: The Daughters and Family Culture
21:39 Chapter 7: Marriages, Politics, and Social Power
25:03 Chapter 8: Foundations, Trusts, and Enduring Dynasty

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The German miller Johan Peter Rockefeller could never have imagined that his modest 1723 arrival in Philadelphia would spawn America's greatest fortune.

John D. Rockefeller entered the world in 1839 in Richford, New York, torn between his mother Eliza's Baptist severity and his father William's snake oil schemes.

His mother taught young John to track every penny in handwritten account books, creating a discipline that would one day help him control 90% of America's oil industry.

His father bragged about cheating his boys to make them sharp, peddling miracle elixirs while the family relocated repeatedly to escape mounting legal troubles.

September 1855 marked the transformation when sixteen-year-old Rockefeller secured his first position at commission merchant Hewitt and Tuttle in Cleveland.

From his very first paycheck, he committed 10% of his earnings to charity, establishing the "earn-save-give" triad that would define his approach to wealth.

The teenager discovered a crucial secret: posted rates that appeared fixed were actually negotiable, and favored shippers received substantial rebates at month's end.

By 1867, chemist Samuel Andrews and businessman Henry Flagler joined the Rockefeller brothers to establish what became the world's largest oil refinery.

The spring of 1868 brought Rockefeller's first major edge when he struck a deal with Lake Shore Railroad for secret rebates worth $50,000 annually.

On January 10, 1870, Standard Oil Company of Ohio was born, with Rockefeller as president holding the largest stake.

The Cleveland Massacre of 1872 demonstrated his ruthless efficiency when he absorbed 22 of Cleveland's 26 competing refineries in under four months.

By 1880, Standard Oil controlled approximately 90% of all oil refineries and pipelines in the United States.

While the Vanderbilts built marble palaces and the Goulds erected Gothic mansions, Rockefeller worked in a sparsely furnished office studying ledgers.

His only indulgence was purchasing 79 acres at Forest Hill east of Cleveland in 1873, where his family spent summers.

Son John D. Junior inherited both wealth and responsibility, financing Rockefeller Center during the Depression and restoring Colonial Williamsburg.

Junior's 1901 marriage to Abby Aldrich, daughter of Senator Nelson Aldrich—nicknamed "General Manager of the United States"—transformed the family from wealthy outsiders to political insiders.

The third generation continued strategic marriages and entered public service, with Nelson serving as Vice President and Jay winning five terms in the U.S. Senate.

In 1891, Rockefeller Senior formed his first trust, followed by a formal dynasty trust in 1952 that has now sustained seven generations.

By 2016, the trust supported over 170 heirs while maintaining an $11 billion fortune through professional management and twice-yearly family meetings.