ented, then petroleum was refined into gasoline and used as fuel for the cars. All this made it possible for cars to move as they do today. Consequently Rockefeller’s company continued to grow. Although Rockefeller could be ruthless in business, he was generous contributing to society. Rockefeller was 57 years old in 1896 when he decided that others should take over the day-to-day leadership of Standard Oil. He now focused his efforts on philanthropy, giving away the bulk of his fortune in ways designed to do the most good as determined by careful study, experience and the help of expert advisers. Even while he was still struggling to make his way he gave one-tenth of his profits to charities and Baptist churches. Before his death in 1937, Rockefeller gave away well over 500 million dollars. Most of the money went to foundations and organizations. Some of the more well known foundations that he created are the Rockefeller Foundation, Rockefeller Institute, the General Education Board, and the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial. Today the Rockefeller name lives on through the institutions he founded. John D. Rockefeller started with very little, amassed a fortune, and then gave back to the country that made it possible for him to be so successful. To sum this all up Rockefeller created extremely successful companies, he used what are now corrupt methods in some aspects of his corporation building to get to the top. The success of the Standard Oil Company is credited to the fact that its owners ran them with great authority. In this very competitive time period, many new businesses were being formed. It took talented businessmen such as Rockefeller to get ahead and keep the companies running and make the fortunes that were made during this period. ...
