Jeff Bezos had nothing on John D Rockefeller. In today’s money, Rockefeller was worth a bit more than $400 billion — more than twice as rich as Bezos. Adjusted for inflation, he’s easily the richest man of all time. Rockefeller consolidated the oil industry. When Rockefeller founded his oil company in 1863, there were hundreds of independent oil refineries. The industry was centred on the city of Cleveland, Ohio. In two years, Rockefeller’s Standard Oil was the biggest refiner in Cleveland. By 1873 he owned 80 per cent of the refining capacity in the city. By the time Rockefeller had…
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