John rockefeller (1839— 1937) is an American industrialist and the founder of Mobil Oil Company. Born in a small village in the northeastern United States, his family was poor. When he was a child, he carefully fed a pair of turkeys given to him by others and selected them for sale in the market. /kloc-When he was 0/2 years old, he saved 50 dollars. He lent money to his neighbor and collected the principal and interest. After graduating from Cleveland Business School, I worked as an accountant in a transportation company and saved 900 dollars in three years. He didn't take part in the civil war, but he earned 17000 dollars in the war. He is taciturn and devotes all his energy to money. At the age of 23, he went to the oil city where the first oil well was drilled in the United States. After on-the-spot investigation, he decided to engage in the oil refining industry with little risk and no loss. In the second year, a joint venture of 70,000 US dollars was established with others to build a large refinery in Cleveland, and new technologies were adopted to refine high-quality oil, leaving competitors far behind, with a profit of 65,438+000%. 1870, he merged two refineries and oil export companies and founded the Ohio Mobil oil company. In less than two years, he annexed more than 20 oil refineries in the region and controlled 90% of the state's oil refining industry, all major oil pipelines and all tankers on the Pennsylvania Railway. He also took over the terminal facilities of a railway company in New Jersey, forcing oil capitalists in new york, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to fall at their feet. Then, in order to control the national oil industry, New York Central Railway Company and Yili Company were manipulated to compete with Pennsylvania Company in railway freight transportation. As a result, within eight years, the refining capacity of Mobil Oil Company soared from 4% in the United States to 95%. Mobil controls almost all American industries and several major railway lines. 1882, becoming the first trust in American history. Later, Rockefeller Financial Group formed a financial core institution composed of four major banks, including Citibank and Chase Bank, and three insurance companies. These seven companies control 65,438+02% of national bank assets and 26% of national insurance assets, and the Rockwell family influenced the decision-making of industrial enterprises through them. Rockefeller Financial Group has set up foundations to give grants to social groups such as education, culture and medical care, so as to expand its influence and power. Rockefeller Financial Group also appointed cronies to hold important positions in the government. For example, Dulles and Lascaux, both former secretaries of state, both served as presidents of the Rockwell Foundation. Before Kissinger became Secretary of State, he served as nelson rockefeller's personal adviser on foreign policy. Members of this family are also active in the political arena, influencing domestic and foreign policies. For example, nelson rockefeller served as the vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977.
John rockefeller is one of the most controversial figures in modern business history.
On the one hand, the standard oil company he founded monopolized 80% of the refining industry and 90% of the oil pipeline business in the United States at its peak. On the other hand, Rockefeller believes in Christianity, and the foundation named after him adheres to the purpose of "benefiting mankind all over the world", with a total donation of 500 million US dollars.
This seemingly contradictory mental state makes Rockefeller's entrepreneurial history quite representative among the early American rich: unusually calm, shrewd and far-sighted, and with his unique courage and means, he built a huge business empire step by step. Rockefeller said, "If I am stripped to a penny and left in the middle of the desert, I can rebuild the whole dynasty as long as a camel team passes by."
Rockefeller, 16 years old, works as a clerk in a dry goods store in Ohio, with a weekly salary of $5. 19 years old went to the sea to do business, selling grain and meat. Since then, Rockefeller has recorded every income and expenditure, not even missing a penny of charitable donations. After three years of accumulation, 22-year-old Rockefeller entered the oil industry and founded Standard Oil Company on 1870.
At this time, Rockefeller was not satisfied with the speed of creating wealth by saving. 1882, he founded an unprecedented joint venture-trust. This structure, which is easy to accumulate wealth, makes Standard Oil the largest oil group enterprise in the world in two years. Rockefeller became a famous "oil king" at home and abroad. Standard Oil Company was finally named Mobil Oil Company. In 19 10, Rockefeller's wealth has reached 10 billion dollars. The good times did not last long. The following year, the US Supreme Court ruled that the trust was dissolved.
Although great wealth has aroused the vigilance of the society, Rockefeller himself is still a devout Christian. He strictly follows the Baptist dogma-no drinking, no smoking or even dancing. Unlike the habits of ordinary rich people, Rockefeller is not interested in buying French estates or Scottish castles, and he is too lazy to buy works of art, yachts or medieval suits. The love of his life is riding a horse.
1897 after retiring from standard oil company, Rockefeller focused on charity. China is the country with the largest overseas investment of Rockefeller Foundation. As we all know, Peking Union Medical College is the largest and most famous cause of Rockefeller Foundation in China. Little known is that Rockefeller Foundation participated in the excavation and archaeological work of Zhoukoudian "Beijingers" from the very beginning.
However, as the most famous veteran American capitalist in China, the name Rockefeller once became synonymous with the inferiority of capitalism. At the beginning of the reform and opening-up, the American personal wealth creation history he represented was shown in the description of China media, and gradually assisted China to form a new generation of wealth view: in social life, wealth and the ability to legally create wealth should be given due respect.
If john D Rockefeller (1839 ~ 1937) were still alive, his worth would be about $200 billion in today's dollars-according to Forbes' list of billionaires in 2003, Bill Gates, then the richest man in the world, was worth $40.7 billion. Strolling through the streets of new york, you can appreciate the past glory of the Rockefeller family everywhere: Bank of JPMorgan Chase, Rockefeller Center, Rockefeller Foundation, Museum of Modern Art and Rockefeller University, which rank among the top in the world in the field of life sciences. Even the popularity of penicillin as a common drug is closely related to Rockefeller and his family. The legacy of the old Rockefeller still dominates the world oil industry, and he himself can be called the personification symbol of the ubiquitous and omnipotent western oil industry.
1859, the commercial success of the first oil well in Pennsylvania, USA, marked the beginning of modern oil industry. At that time, the most important use of oil was to refine kerosene for lighting. 1870, Rockefeller founded the standard oil company, and soon he established his own empire by ruthlessly squeezing and annexing his opponents. By the time he was 38, Rockefeller had controlled 90% of the oil refining industry in the United States and greatly reduced the price of petroleum products: during Rockefeller's period, the price of gasoline dropped from 88 cents to 5 cents per gallon.
1911may 15, the U.S supreme court ruled that according to the Sherman antitrust law of 1890, Mobil oil company belongs to monopoly and should be dissolved. According to this judgment, Mobil oil empire is divided into about 37 regional oil companies. However, despite the Supreme Court's judgment and the media's previous characterization of Rockefeller as an "evil" monopoly capitalist who does whatever it takes to achieve his goals, investors still enthusiastically pursue the shares of these "Baby Mobil", which makes the total market value of many companies after the split far exceed the original market value of Mobil, and the Rockefeller family's property is not reduced, but more than before.
The oil empire founded by Rockefeller and its successor companies-Exxon, Mobil and Chevron, and Texaco, Gulf, BP and Royal Dutch/Shell, which started in Texas, are also called "oil Seven Sisters", ranking the highest in the world. Exxon merged with Mobil on 1999, and Chevron merged with Texaco on1200, after Gulf sold its assets to Chevron and BP on 1980 and 1990. Today, ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Shell and Total of France are the top five oil companies in the world.
When john D Rockefeller found that his wealth had reached nearly $ 19 10, he began to think about how to use this wealth. Because he was not interested in buying French manors or castles in Scotland, nor did he bother to buy works of art, yachts or medieval suits and all the things that the rich talked about, he invested a large part of his income in coal mines, railways, insurance companies, banks and various types of production enterprises, the most famous of which was iron ore business.
For China people, "being rich for three generations" seems to be an iron law. However, the Rockefeller family has lasted for six generations since its rise, and there is still no sign of decadence and decline. This is closely related to their wealth view and the education their children received from childhood. Their family advocates thrift and is keen on creating wealth. These two points were particularly fully reflected in the life of lawrence Rockefeller, the master of ZTE in the Rockefeller family.
On July 1 1, 2004, lawrence Rockefeller, a billionaire and all-powerful man in the United States, died in his sleep at the age of 94. The third generation of Rockefeller family, although born with a golden key, is by no means a dude. He not only pioneered venture capital in his lifetime, but also made immortal contributions to environmental protection and charity in the United States.
John D. Rockefeller Sr.' s only son and heir is john D Rockefeller Jr. john D Rockefeller Jr. * * * has six children, and his sister babs is the oldest. The others are all boys, from big to small, they are John, Nelson, Lawrence, Winslow and David. Lawrence Rockefeller 19 10 was born in new york on May 26th. In his childhood, Lawrence had the closest relationship with Nelson, who was two years older than him. They once raised rabbits together and sold them to science laboratories as pocket money. Such a thing sounds difficult to connect with the Rockefeller family, but it is true. The reason why the descendants of the Rockefeller family can achieve extraordinary achievements in the future has a lot to do with the family education they received since childhood. In order to prevent children from being spoiled by the aura of the family, both John Rockefeller Sr. and George W. john rockefeller Jr. have made great efforts in educating children and have a set of ancestral education plans. Father encourages Lawrence and other children to do housework to earn money: if flies are caught in the corridor, they will be rewarded with a dime every 100; Catch rats in the attic for 5 points each, and it is valuable to carry firewood and chop firewood. Lawrence and his brother Nelson got the franchise to clean the whole family's leather shoes at the age of 7 and 9 respectively, with 2 points for each pair of leather shoes and 1 horn for each pair of boots.
Lawrence spent his middle school days in Lincoln Middle School, which is famous for its teaching theory of "practice makes true knowledge". Lawrence's interest in photography, travel and exploration has been encouraged and developed. Lawrence and his brothers and sisters, although born in the richest family in America, have always maintained the virtue of thrift, which is attributed to their family environment. John Rockefeller Jr has been reading children's books regularly and checking their expenses, just like his father. As Baptists, the Rockefeller family resisted dancing and drinking, so they couldn't see the dance halls and bars common in rich people's mansions in their homes. Devout religious belief makes the Rockefeller family live a frugal and superior life.
Old John Rockefeller once said that the ability to make money is a gift from God to the Rockefeller family. Lawrence inherited the gift of making money from his grandfather. His name has assets of $654.38+$50 million, ranking 377th among Forbes' 587 billionaires. 1937, Lawrence inherited the new york Stock Exchange bought by his grandfather, and then embarked on the road of starting a business from Wall Street, creating a precedent for venture capital in the United States. Surprisingly, instead of buying more blue chips, he began to invest and help newly established enterprises start their own businesses. His first attempt was very accidental. At that time, he and his new wife were going to customize some furniture. When he saw the photos of Bentwood designed by Finnish designer alvar aalto, he had a premonition that these furniture would be the ideal choice for modern home, so he placed an order to buy a batch and opened a specialty store in new york. Although many people are skeptical about the business prospects, the result is a great demand for furniture. Until 1940, the Finnish winter war affected the supply of goods, and the business was forced to be interrupted. Lawrence's second deal is more influential. He got to know Eddie Rickenbeck, the pilot of World War I, and thought Rickenbeck's views on the upcoming rise of commercial air transport were very insightful. So, 1938, he funded Rickenbeck to set up Eastern Airlines, and became the largest shareholder of the company for a long time, and Eastern Airlines also became the most profitable airline after the war. In addition, his investment in 1939 McDonnell Douglas Airlines has also become a major supplier of military aircraft.
During World War II, he froze his business and joined the navy, at least in school. After the war, he returned to the shopping mall and continued to look for new corporate investments. An article in Wall Street Journal 65438-0959 specifically pointed out Lawrence's contribution to the new field of venture capital, thus establishing his position as the "father of venture capital". Lawrence, together with other Rockefeller family members and some institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art, established the Vanlock Venture Capital Company, which specializes in venture capital. By the end of 1996, they * * * invested in 22 1 start-up companies, and all these companies have achieved good results after being invested.
Decades of business experience have convinced him of the importance of keeping a flexible mind and keeping pace with the times, so he is willing to accept new things, introduce new concepts, promote venture capital funds, and develop high-tech and other emerging industries, including investing in Apple Computer and Intel Group, the largest chip company in the United States.
More than a century has passed since J·D· Rockefeller became the first billionaire in American history, and the Rockefeller family is still writing brilliant history. Instead of hiding in their rooms all day planning how to keep their wealth and prevent money from falling into other people's pockets, they actively participate in culture, health and charity, spend a lot of money to set up various funds with a sense of guilt, and invest in universities and hospitals for the whole society to share. In today's America, it is almost impossible to completely avoid the influence of this family. It is no exaggeration to say that the development history of Rockefeller family in the past 150 years is an accurate epitome of the whole American history and has become an outstanding representative of American national spirit.
Introduction to Bill Gates: William (Bill) H. Gates is the founder, former chairman and CEO of Microsoft, the world's leading PC software provider. Gates' net worth is $56.4 billion.
Gates was born in 1955, and he grew up in Seattle with two sisters. Their father, william gates, is a lawyer in Seattle. Their late mother, mary gates, was a middle school teacher, a member of the Board of Directors of the University of Washington, and the chairman of the United International Road Organization.
Gates studied in public elementary schools and private lakeside middle schools in Seattle, where he began his career in personal computer software, and began to write computer programs at the age of 13.
1973, in his first year at Harvard University, Gates lived on the same floor as the current Microsoft President steve ballmer. During his stay at Harvard, Gates developed the basic programming language of the first microcomputer-MITS Altair. BASIC language is a computer language developed by John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz of Dartmouth College in the mid-1960s.
In the third grade, Gates dropped out of Harvard and joined Microsoft, which was founded with his childhood friend paul allen on 1975. They are convinced that personal computers will be a very valuable tool for every office desktop system and every family, and under the guidance of this belief, they began to develop software for personal computers.
Gates' foresight and insight into personal computers has always been the key to the success of Microsoft and the software industry. Gates actively participated in the key management and strategic decision of Microsoft, and played an important role in the technical development of new products. He spends quite a lot of time meeting customers and keeping in touch with Microsoft employees all over the world by email.
Under the leadership of Gates, Microsoft's mission is to constantly improve and improve software technology, so that people can use computers more easily, economically and effectively. Microsoft has a long-term development strategy, which can be reflected in its R&D investment of $2.6 billion this fiscal year.
From 65438 to 0995, Gates wrote The Road to the Future, in which he believed that information technology would promote social progress. The authors of this book include nathan myhrvold and Peter Relson, chief technology officers of Microsoft. It ranked first in The New York Times bestseller list for seven consecutive weeks, and stayed on the list for 18 weeks.
The Road to the Future has been published in more than 20 countries and sold more than 400,000 copies in China alone. 1996, in order to make full use of the new business opportunities brought by the internet, Gates made a strategic adjustment to Microsoft, and at the same time made a comprehensive revision of the future road. In the new edition, he thinks the interactive network is an important milestone in the history of human communication. The second edition of paperback is also on the bestseller list. Gates donated the income from his manuscript fee to a non-profit fund to support teachers around the world who combine computers with teaching.
Besides computer complex, Gates is also interested in biotechnology. He is ICOS, Chiroscience Group and Chiro Scientist &; Company d? Used to be a shareholder of DarwinMolecular. He also founded Corbis, which is developing one of the largest visual information resources in the world, providing comprehensive digital documents for public and private art and photography collections around the world. Gates also invested in Teledesic with Craig McCaw, the pioneer of cellular telephone. The company has ambitious plans to launch hundreds of low-Earth orbit satellites to provide two-way broadband telecommunications services to the world.
In the 12 years since Microsoft went public, Gates has donated more than 800 million dollars to charities, including 200 million dollars to the Gates Library Foundation, to help major libraries in North America make better use of various new technologies brought by the information age. From 65438 to 0994, Gates founded the William H Gates Foundation, which sponsored a series of activities of interest to Gates himself and his family. Gates donated four key areas: education, world public health and population issues, non-profit public art institutions and a regional investment plan-Puget Sound.
Gates 1994 65438+ 10 1 married Melinda French gates, and they have a child, Jennifer Katharine Gates, who was born in 1996. Gates is an avid reader and likes playing golf and bridge.
Bill Gates' famous words
(1) Life is unfair, get used to it;
(2) The world won't care about your self-esteem until you achieve something;
(3) Don't expect too much after graduating from high school;
(4) Don't think that your boss is tough, until you get a boss, he has no term limit;
(5) flipping burgers will not harm your dignity;
(6) Your predicament is not your parents' fault;
(7) Your parents have been paying for you, which makes it boring now;
(8) Your school may not distinguish between top students and bottom students, but it has nothing in common with real life;
(9) In life, you have no summer vacation to rest and no one to help you find yourself;
Television is not real life;
Be kind to boring people, and you may work for a boring person.