Rockefeller: The story of the first billionaire in American history, the early American rich, mostly succeeded by chance, only John? Rockefeller is an exception. He is not versatile, but he is unusually calm, shrewd and far-sighted. With unique courage and means, he built his huge oil empire from scratch step by step. In his long life, people have different opinions about him. Some people think that he is just an ambitious mercenary entrepreneur, while others praise him as a generous philanthropist. In any case, as the first billionaire and oil tycoon in American history, he controlled the entire American oil resources for quite some time, created the trust enterprise system, and occupied an important position in the history of American capitalist economic development. 1July 8, 839, John? Rockefeller was born in Yangjia, a small town on the Hudson River in new york. His parents are completely different in personality: his mother is a devout Christian, who converts to the Bible in every word and deed, and is frugal and strict in family education; But my father is a pragmatic * * *, he is confident, adventurous, sociable, willful and self-centered. As the eldest son, Rockefeller learned the pragmatic way of doing business from his father and the advantages of being meticulous, frugal and trustworthy from his mother, which had a great impact on his future success. His father is William, and everyone calls him "Big Bill". He is a lumberjack, a horse dealer and a witch doctor on the tramp, selling the so-called panacea of "seeing miraculous effects and curing all diseases". Besides, he also sells land, furs and salt. selling groceries is a knowledgeable man who can do almost anything. The father went out to do business for several months, and the education of the children at home was mainly borne by the mother. However, the father who comes home occasionally is as ambitious as his mother. As long as he has time, he teaches John how to write business letters, how to pay accurately and quickly, and how to keep accounts clearly. He is well aware of the reality of society and the ruthlessness of the world, so he often takes some special ways to educate children and make them strong and smart before entering the society. Bill pays great attention to creating opportunities in the game to inspire John and his brother and cultivate their awareness of accident prevention. When John was a child, his father often made little John jump from the high chair into his arms. Once his father didn't pick him up with his arms, and he fell heavily to the ground. Father said to him seriously, "Remember, never trust anyone completely." Don't trust even the closest person! "This incident left a deep impression on John, so that in the future business, he always kept a calm and alert mind, thus avoiding many mistakes. However, John did not accept everything that flowed in his father's blood. He has no father's temperament at all, but he has inherited his mother's virtue of thrift. He regarded this belief as "business training" and adhered to the principle of "frugality is scarcity" all his life. From this, he also came to his own conclusion: "Only numbers count. "John? Rockefeller 14 years old, studying at Cleveland Central Middle School. After school, he often hangs out on the dock and watches businessmen do business. One day, he met a classmate, and they walked and talked. The classmate asked, "John, what do you want to be when you grow up?" "Young Rockefeller said without hesitation," I want to be a man with $65,438+million, and I will succeed. "Who would have thought that decades later, this world-renowned oil tycoon would have a wealth of $654.38+0 billion, which is 654.38+10,000 times of his childhood dream! , John? After graduating from high school, Rockefeller 1855 decided to give up college and make a living by doing business. In order to find a job, he ran around the streets of Cleveland for several weeks and made up his mind to find a promising career. He has a high eye. He later recalled: "I went to railway companies, banks and wholesalers to find a job, and I didn't go to small shops." "I want to do great things." On September 26th of that year, he became an accounting clerk in a grain enterprise. Since then, this day has become a festive anniversary on his personal calendar, and he celebrated it as his second birthday. "It was there that I began to learn to do business. My weekly salary was $4." He recalled. He studied hard and soon got a good sense of numbers. In addition to keeping accounts, he also makes suggestions on the operation of the company. Once, a firm bought a batch of marble, and after opening the package, it was found that the high-priced marble was defective, and the owner of the firm was depressed and helpless. At this point, the flexible Rockefeller suggested that the responsibility should be shifted to the three transportation companies responsible for delivery, requiring the three companies to compensate for the losses respectively. This brilliant idea made the company get twice as much compensation as before, and the company got a windfall from it. Rockefeller's natural business talent was appreciated by his boss, and he soon got a raise. He earned $300 in his first year at work. In the third year, his annual salary was raised to 600 dollars. But he knew that his contribution to this company was far more than that, so he asked for a salary increase of $800 and was rejected. Rockefeller flatly decided to leave the company and go his own way. 1858, Rockefeller, who was only 19 years old, borrowed 1000 dollars from his father, plus his own savings of 800 dollars, and joined hands with Clark, who was 10 years older than him, to set up a company dealing in grain and meat. This is Rockefeller's first company. Due to the smooth operation, we did business of $45,000 in the first year, with a net profit of $4,000. At the end of the second year, the net profit was $654.38+200,000, and Rockefeller got $6,000. Rockefeller is always confident and ambitious in doing business; At the same time, he kept his promise and tried his best to win the trust of others. Clark appreciated Rockefeller's meticulous work. Describing the situation in those years, he said, "He is extremely methodical, pays attention to details, and is not bad." If a penny should be given to us, he will take it away. You give the customer a penny less, and he wants the customer to take it away. "At this time, oil has been discovered in Pennsylvania, and thousands of people flocked to the oil-producing areas like the original gold rush. For a time, the land in Pennsylvania was full of derricks, and the crude oil output rose rapidly. Cleveland businessmen are also very excited about this new business. They elected Rockefeller, a promising young broker, to personally investigate the origin of crude oil in Pennsylvania in order to obtain direct and reliable information. After a few days' long journey, Rockefeller came to the oil-producing area, and everything in front of him shocked him: towering derricks, messy cabins, grotesque well-drilling equipment and oil storage tanks could be seen everywhere, which was a mess. This situation made Rockefeller a little depressed. Through the superficial "prosperity" scene, he saw the potential crisis behind blind mining. Calm Rockefeller did not rush back to report the results of the investigation to the business community in Cleveland, but stayed at the American hotel in the oil-producing area for further field investigation. He reads the market situation in the newspaper every day, quietly listens to the narration of the anxious and talkative oil businessman, and takes detailed notes seriously. And he himself is as precious as gold and will never reveal his thoughts. American millionaire Rockefeller