J. D. Rockefeller
Categories: Banking, Board of Directors
J. D. Rockefeller, or John D. Rockefeller, is many things. Some think of him as an entrepreneur and innovator, while others think of him more like a Bond villain. No matter what you think of Johnny D., only one thing is certain: he was one of the richest and most powerful men of his time (the late 1800s through 1937), and has had a lasting influence.
So how did JDR get so rich? In a word: oil. He was in the right place at the right time, had a great education when he was young, and got started early in the business world (what were you doing when you were 16?).
How'd he do it? By not taking risky risks (like...what were the odds that oil would be highly in demand at the advent or the beginning of the auto industry?).
He was exceptional in his understanding of risk and what it took to grow vertically and horizontally, and he more or less monopolized elements of the oil industry along the way, creating an ability to raise prices, more or less, however he pleased.
Using his oil money, he built and bought railroads, and grew so big that the U.S. government had to tap him on the shoulder and say, “hey, did you know about these things we call Anti-Trust laws?”
After all the hubbub of his younger years, he decided to spread his wealth via philanthropy. Legend has it that if you’re on 5th Ave in NYC, you’ll hear his name.
Well, if you walk by the Rockefeller Center, anyway.
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Finance: What are Interlocking Directora...14 Views
Finance a la shmoop what are interlocking directorates? got global
corporate Skull and Bones conspiracy theory on the brain well you'll need it [Man holding skull and bones conspiracy theory]
when you think about this one an interlocking Directorate happens when a
number of companies share directors so that each company is you know business
friendly with the other the heyday of interlocking directorates was the
Rockefeller era when the former wealthiest man in the world wanted to [John Rockefeller appears]
control more or less everything in and around discovery, drilling, storage,
distribution and banking in and around Big Oil
so the Rockefeller interlocking Directorate of say nine white men on
each board and yes in those days they were all white and men well three of
them on this board overseeing the rockefeller holdings in drilling would
also be on the board of well his company holdings in oil storage and
these other three who sat on his oil storage board would also sit on his
train plane and automobile distribution businesses well the boards are
interlocked to be sure that each of the vertically integrated monopolies played
nice with each other and you know kept the monopoly party going ooh and the [Board members playing monopoly]
party did rage on for a very long time interlocking directorates got a lot of
grief in the U.S at the time yes they did and that's noteworthy because well
in Japan and Korea and Russia and other countries which make big products like
cars and washing machines and cell phones that are competitive with the big [Kids playing sack race]
US companies well they're interlocking directorates are the normal way of doing
business you know the norm if gravity still
exists well over time those interlocking directorates carry a structural
advantage over the US system because they can rely on each other for supply
and for demand they can plan many many years into the future and they can elbow
out any would-be competition who might be there with huge heft in government [Man performs karate move on another man]
help in the U.S it's kind of the opposite it's more like every company
for him or herself so there's no cooperation there and the government
it's more the enemy half the time than your business partner
well interlocking directorates are not necessarily evil they're just a [Man with horns appears]
component of a globally competitive industry where the structure of company
ownership needs to reflect the basic concept that each share of common stock
could and should carry one vote so now that you understand interlocking
directorates we can finally get back to the question of who killed Kennedy this
guy sure doesn't have an alibi [Big foot walking in a misty forest]