Fortune's List of World's 50 Greatest Leaders

Pope Francis

Just over a year ago, a puff of white smoke announced the new spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Roman Catholics around the world. In the brief time since, Francis has electrified the church and attracted legions of non-Catholic admirers by energetically setting a new direction. He has refused to occupy the palatial papal apartments, has washed the feet of a female Muslim prisoner, is driven around Rome in a Ford Focus, and famously asked "Who am I to judge?" with regard to the church's view of gay members. He created a group of eight cardinals to advise him on reform, which a church historian calls the "most important step in the history of the church for the past 10 centuries." Francis recently asked the world to stop the rock-star treatment. He knows that while revolutionary, his actions so far have mostly reflected a new tone and intentions. His hardest work lies ahead. And yet signs of a "Francis effect" abound: In a poll in March, one in four Catholics said they'd increased their charitable giving to the poor this year. Of those, 77% said it was due in part to the Pope.

The 77-year old pontiff tops Fortune magazine's The World's 50 Greatest Leaders.  Imagine that: a religious figure is, in the eyes of leadership experts and Fortune reporters, a leader among leaders.  The US works at separating church and state, and lauds the rationality, logic and objectivity of the scientific endeavor.  So, presuming that many of those experts and reporters are American, I find that their installing Pope Francis at the top of a multitude of leaders to be a curious one. 

Religion seems to be such a polarizing thing, as I see many on social media giving it the short shrift, at best, and sometimes heaving vitriol, at worst.  Yet, here we are, with Pope Francis.  Maybe, just maybe, there may be an unspoken longing among people, if not among leaders per se, for more of that religious life.   

The top 10 on the list is altogether curious, indeed:

1. A pontiff
2. A chancellor (Angela Merkel, Germany)
3. A CEO (Alan Mulally, Ford Motor Co.)
4. An investor (Warren Buffet, Berkshire Hathaway)
5. A former president (Bill Clinton, US)
6. A Nobel Peace Prize Winner (Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar)
7. A general (Joe Dunford, NATO)
8. A rock star (Bono, U2)
9. Another spiritual leader (Dalai Lama, Tibet)
10. Another CEO (Jeff Bezos, Amazon)

I write more about this list of The World's 50 Greatest Leaders.

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD

`The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power

(image credit)

Daniel Yergin

The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power (PDF)

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD

`The Prize (8) "New Order of Oil"

The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power is Daniel Yergin's history of the global oil industry from the 1850s through 1990. The Prize became a bestseller owing to its release date: it was published in October 1990, two months after the invasion of Kuwait ordered by Saddam Hussein and three months before the U.S.-led coalition began the Gulf War to oust Iraqi troops from that country.  It eventually went on to win the Pulitzer Prize. 

The Prize has been called the "definitive" history of the oil industry, even a "bible".

My notes

In 1991 Saddam Hussein set fire to Kuwaiti oil fields.

The new challenge: The environmental challenge. Environment, war (human suffering).

Los Angeles is the city that oil made, and oil is the biggest business. Los Angeles is built on oil.

The Hydrocarbon Society, the center of it is the automobile. Americans drive two trillion miles a year, and have a love affair with driving.

Lod Cook, Chairman of Arco, the 8th largest oil company, runs a $18 billion business. Oil provides us mobility, independence and freedom.

California was just as influential as OPEC as far as environmental regulations were concerned.

We produce it, because there is public demand.

The circle has come around quickly. In the early 1990s oil-producing countries re-invited foreign companies to help develop undeveloped fields within their borders.

The spectre of oil shortage was banished, for the time being. The oil companies were the epitome of multinational operations.

The biggest of them all was Shell. But 2/3rd of the world’s oil reserves are in the Middle East.

Operation Desert Storm. Good thing, Saudi Arabia wasn’t attacked. Otherwise the world would’ve had three major oil-producing countries in the shadows of one man.

Oil is the blood of the 20th century. No one can imagine his life without oil. Oil power made this an American century. Japanese were fascinated with the American way of life.

The Japanese foresaw the 21st century as the Age of Information.

Instability of Russian oil industry. Political uncertainty delayed White Nights’ oil exploration in Siberia.

Poor Russian oil management resulted in reduced production and efficiency. Also environmental disaster, such as wasteland and waste waters, for example, for leaking pipelines.

In Baku 19th century equipment was still at work.

The tundra is environmentally sensitive.

The Hydrocarbon Society comes to a Siberian village. White Nights offered snowmobiles to the villagers.

Oil and gas will remain a major industry for at least 50 years, probably 100 years, hence (i.e., from early 1990s).

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD

`The Prize (7) "The Tinderbox"

The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power is Daniel Yergin's history of the global oil industry from the 1850s through 1990. The Prize became a bestseller owing to its release date: it was published in October 1990, two months after the invasion of Kuwait ordered by Saddam Hussein and three months before the U.S.-led coalition began the Gulf War to oust Iraqi troops from that country.  It eventually went on to win the Pulitzer Prize. 

The Prize has been called the "definitive" history of the oil industry, even a "bible".

My notes

In a span of 20 years, war ravaged the oil-rich Middle East four times. After the Gulf War, for example, the Iraqi army was shattered, but Kuwaiti oil fields were in flames.

60% of oil reserves are in the volatile Gulf Region.

For more than a century, Kuwait was protected by the British. But in 1971, there was an abrupt change in forces. It left a military and political vacuum, and the US was ill-suited to fill that vacuum, due to Israeli affiliation and public reluctance.

President Nixon courted Shah of Iran, who had built his country up as an empire. Which eventually led to his downfall.

He wanted German industrial strength and British pomp and circumstance. To finance his ambitions, he pushed oil production. But he didn’t control prices.

The West took cheap Middle East oil for granted.  National oil companies were the conduit for festering resentment and emerging nationalism.

BP oil was based in Kuwait, Iran and Iraq. For years, pearl fishing carried Kuwaiti economy. Until cultured pearls arrived by 1920 from Japan.

The cartel, aka The Seven Sisters, commanded the industry.

Saudi King Faisal spoke up in 1973 about growing tensions. If war came, and the US helped Israel, there would be a violent reaction among Arab nations vis-à-vis oil supply (i.e., the oil weapon).

Egypt and Syria attacked Israel. In Vienna OPEC forced prices up. Two wars were being waged ▪ military | oil. OPEC aimed for a $6 a barrel price.

The tide of battle turned in Israel’s favor, following US support. OPEC went from Vienna to Kuwait City, and made a momentous decision ▪ substantial increase in price | support Arab side in the conflict.

The oil embargo caused panic in the West, with King Faisal making good with his promise (aka threat). In the US gasoline prices rose 40%. Gas lines stretched for blocks.

The Nixon administration suddenly had to focused on the Middle East. Shuttle Diplomacy for Kissinger.

It also shocked Japan (1973). It shifted the market for cars ▪ from high performance and speed, to fuel efficiency. The Great Oil Shock became the basis for Japanese economic super power.

Billions of petrodollars poured into Saudi Arabia. OPEC was now in the driver’s seat. The Arabs could buy Western machinery for cash. There was a sixfold increase in their earnings.

Kuwait now wanted Gulf Oil Trading Oil out of the country, even after years of relationship-building.  Global oil hunt was the result, as Western companies needed to replace reserves.

The Saudi oil minister wanted a slight, reasonable increase in oil price, so as not to cripple Western economy and to drop oil demand.

The Shah was a megalomaniac, and wanted sudden increases. In other words, he was an idiot. He eventually fled on January 15th 1979. Ayatollah Khomeini returned to power.

The second oil shock occurred, and undermined Carter’s administration.  There was a panic, there was hording. But in actuality there was no shortage.

Vienna, September 1980. OPEC celebrated its 20th anniversary. But from Iraq, Saddam Hussein, very ambitious and ruthless, attacked Iran during its leadership transition.

The war disrupted oil supply from both countries.

OPEC thought it could keep raising prices, even in the midst of falling demands.

BP, Exxon and Arco were furiously exploring in Alaska. It was an epic undertaking.  It didn’t take long for supply-and-demand in the West to catch up with OPEC. By 1983 Western oil was eating into OPEC share.

Oil price dropped in 1986 from $29 to $10. The balance power shifted back to the West, and OPEC was no longer in the driver’s seat.  The sudden fall in revenues put oil nations into shock. But for the public it was of course terrific.

Blood was still being shed in the eight-year Iraq-Iran war. Hussein hailed the war as a great victory, but it was not. He survived, that was the most he could say.

But he plunged into debt ($75 – 80 billion). He had mortgaged the future by conducting it the way he did. He tried to coerce his Arab brothers to forgive the debt, and Kuwait in particular refused.

Ah, this must’ve been a key motive for Iraq’s attack on Kuwait. Hussein led a cash-strapped country.

The US entered in the war in 1990, leading an Allied force. Hussein was defeated, but lived to fight another day.

Oil price shot up to $40 a barrel, when Hussein attacked Iran, but it dropped back to 1970s levels following four wars and three oil shocks.

Companies and countries were trying to avoid the Middle East tinderbox.

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD

`The Prize (6) "Power to the Producers"

The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power is Daniel Yergin's history of the global oil industry from the 1850s through 1990. The Prize became a bestseller owing to its release date: it was published in October 1990, two months after the invasion of Kuwait ordered by Saddam Hussein and three months before the U.S.-led coalition began the Gulf War to oust Iraqi troops from that country.  It eventually went on to win the Pulitzer Prize. 

The Prize has been called the "definitive" history of the oil industry, even a "bible".

My notes

In the 1950s and 1960s the tension between the oil-producing countries and the (oil-consuming) West increased.

Oil was being discovered more than ever before, but a battle was brewing for the control of this wealth.

On October 27th 1962 an Italian oil magnate – Enrico Mattei – was getting death threats. His plane crashed, one minute from landing. Some suspected sabotage, but apparently there were no signs of such.

Mattei had taken on many big and powerful oil players. His opponents saw him as the Napoleon of oil. He was determined to get his share of the business.

The major oil companies – The Seven Sisters ▪ Chevron | Esso | Texaco | Mobil… The world was shifting from coal to oil, because oil was cheap.

Hydrocarbon Society, the Automobile Culture. Fast food, new prosperity. Millions took to the highways.

Competition among the majors was fierce, especially for branding in the market. But behind the scenes, they collaborated on oil production concessions.

Investments in exploration and transportation, refining and marketing.

It’s like the Emperor’s clothes. If people perceived that you had power, then you had power.

As the production of oil went up, the price went down.

Japanese growth was based on the switch from coal to oil, which transformed the county into a major industrial power.

Governments saw that oil was vital to national interests.

Mattei fought hard to make ENI – Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi – a state company. For centuries Italy battled poverty.

Mattei saw a prospective partner just across the Mediterrean ▪ Gamal Abdel Nasser, of Egypt. He promised the latter a staggering 75% of the profit, but the pot was relatively small.

He offered the Shah of Iran the same 75%-25% deal.

Mattei’s legacy was the 8th biggest oil company in the world.

The oil companies in the West kept producing, thus driving prices down. Which didn’t make oil producers in the Middle East happy at all. So Alfonso broached an idea that was to become OPEC.

OPEC was formed in Baghdad in 1960, which Western majors refused to recognize.

In the 1960s Libya emerged onto the scene. It was a North African bonanza. Libya was a very poor country. But the regime saw the opportunity to make real money.

Occidental was an overnight success for Armand Hammer. He fought hard for a concession in Libya. He drew on technology to help him discover oil, where others failed.

Then Gaddafi engineered a successful coup, but knew nothing about international oil. He wanted control over national oil. Libya was Hammer’s only source of oil, and Gaddafi cut off 50% of it.

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD

`The Prize (5) "Crude Diplomacy"

The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power is Daniel Yergin's history of the global oil industry from the 1850s through 1990. The Prize became a bestseller owing to its release date: it was published in October 1990, two months after the invasion of Kuwait ordered by Saddam Hussein and three months before the U.S.-led coalition began the Gulf War to oust Iraqi troops from that country.  It eventually went on to win the Pulitzer Prize. 

The Prize has been called the "definitive" history of the oil industry, even a "bible".

My notes

US lifted oil rationing within 24° of the formal end of WWII, and Americans were ecstatic.

Oil was too important for governments to allow business to decide and control. Still companies made agreements with one another to manage supply-demand.

Saudi Arabia and its warrior King Abdulaziz. A land of bedouin and pilgrims, of sand and camels. Three times the size of Texas.

Socal (Standard Oil of California) hoped to find more oil in the Persian (aka Arabian) Gulf.

Jack Philby rode with the King on the deserts, and gained the King’s ear when he said there was treasure underneath the desert sands.

The King was running out of money for his growing Kingdom.

The King thought he had sold the Americans just sand for $275,000. But the Americans wasted no time, as their first geologist arrived on a dhow.

On March 4th 1938 Well #7 (in what is now Dhahran) sprung oil.

President FDR and King Abdulaziz struck a relationship. Which stirred the envious Winston Churchill to action, but the British bumbled the Rolls Royce gift to the King.

They didn’t know that the King did not sit in the back and further more the British right-handed steering meant the King had to sit on the left in the front, which was a no-no.

In 1951 Iran nationalized its oil, and the British were out.

Any American who flirted with crossing strict Islamic lines were quickly whisked out and sent back to the US.

Build relationships with the Middle East, Saudi Arabia in particular, meant the West, the US in particular, could conserve its oil.

The Greal Deal of 1947 ▪ Socal (now Chevron) and Texaco, plus Esso and Socony Vacuum, joined the relationship with Saudi Aramco.  By the way, Aramco is short of Arabian American Co.

Iran refused stubbornly to adhere to the new reality of 50-50 split of profit. The Americans were not too unhappy with the British struggle with Iran.

In the post-War world, politics could not stay away from oil, and oil could not rid itself of politics.

In economic terms, things were getting better for oil-producing countries. But nationalism was rising, and this made these countries impenetrable to the West.

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD

`The Prize (4) "War and Oil"

The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power is Daniel Yergin's history of the global oil industry from the 1850s through 1990. The Prize became a bestseller owing to its release date: it was published in October 1990, two months after the invasion of Kuwait ordered by Saddam Hussein and three months before the U.S.-led coalition began the Gulf War to oust Iraqi troops from that country.  It eventually went on to win the Pulitzer Prize. 

The Prize has been called the "definitive" history of the oil industry, even a "bible".

My notes

Oil is the untold story of World War Two, especially for Germany and Japan. 

A Germany on wheels was Adolf Hitler’s vision of national supremacy.  He marveled at his country’s technology prowess, but it didn’t have oil.  The country was poor on natural resources, and its Nobel Prize-winning synthetic oil was too expensive to produce. 

The aim of blitzkrieg was to end war quickly, as Germany could not afford to engage in a long war.  This worked on Poland and France. 

But not with Great Britain.  The US had refined oil (Octane 100) that allowed British warplanes greater lift and maneuverability, which eventually defeated German air attack. 

Meanwhile, Isoroku Yamamoto, who engineered the attack on Pearl Harbor, spent years studying US and American culture. 

Japan sought to gain autonomy, so it worked to conquer all of Asia and its resources.  But because the US saw the atrocity Japan was inflicting on China, it cut off its oil supply. 

The December 7^th 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor crippled the Pacific fleet.

In real life, that is, outside of Japanese internal propaganda, the oil tanks were left untouched.  This was a strategic fatal flaw.  Japan was thinking more about its growing oil needs and less about truly crippling US military might. 

Hitler, too, was dreaming about oil, that of the Soviet Union.  So Germany invaded Russia.  Operation Barbarosa was expected to be another blitzkrieg, but the landscape it attacked was more like a continent than a country.  From rain to snow, weather became a formidable enemy.   

Back in Germany, Hitler saw his generals’ military strategy to be outdated, because they didn’t consider the economics of war.  Rommel was the exception, and devised a strategy to win the oil-rich Caucasus, that is, to attack it from the north and the south.

But in June 1942, short on oil, Rommel’s bold campaign ground to a halt.  The British, on the other hand, were swimming in oil.  Rommel was ultimately defeated in Northern Africa. 

On the northern portion of Rommel’s strategy, Germany faced stiff Russian resistance.  Hitler’s dream of controlling Baku was fading.

Meanwhile, a remobilized US managed to cut off Japanese oil supply in the Pacific. 

Patton, like Rommel, had an instinctive feel for the battlefield, such as where the enemy was vulnerable.  Plus, he knew how crucial oil (gasoline) was.  So when President Eisenhower ordered just half of the supply he requested, he didn’t quite discourage his men from underhanded means of securing more. 

He finally got his gasoline, but the unforgiving minute had passed.  If he had had what he needed, WWII would’ve ended nine months earlier.

In the meantime, Germany used concentration camp slaves to help produce more synthetic oil. The US therefore aimed to cripple such supply. So while Germany built the first jet fighter, it was rendered absolutely useless without oil.

In Japan, boys and girls were engaged in war efforts, which were to eke out as much oil from everything, including crops and trees.

At the time of the dropping of the atomic bombs, the Japanese war machine was almost paralyzed, because it had run out of oil. It cost Japan 50 million lives, and oil was implicated to the very tragic end.

Hitler himself committed suicide, as the Russians neared Berlin. Then his soldiers doused his body in gasoline, and set it aflame.

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD

`The Prize (3) "Black Giant"

The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power is Daniel Yergin's history of the global oil industry from the 1850s through 1990. The Prize became a bestseller owing to its release date: it was published in October 1990, two months after the invasion of Kuwait ordered by Saddam Hussein and three months before the U.S.-led coalition began the Gulf War to oust Iraqi troops from that country.  It eventually went on to win the Pulitzer Prize. 

The Prize has been called the "definitive" history of the oil industry, even a "bible".

My notes

Calouste Gulbenkian saw himself as the key to Middle East oil.  The Turkish Empire controlled the Middle East in 1914. 

Mr. Gulbenkian became known as Mr. 5%, also Gold Shilling Gentleman, amid the international fight for oil concessions.  He said, It’s always better to get a small slice of a big cake, than a big slice of a small cake.

Gulbenkian was obsessive-compulsive about his daily routine and schedule.  He was attracted to all things beautiful, from women and paintings, to nature.

Walter “Boss” Teagle became the first organization man in the oil business.

Gulbenkian fought to carve out 5% not just with Iraqi oil (Mesopotamia) but also with all of the Middle East. 

Redline Agreement, the underlining driver of which was the fear among Americans of pending shortage of oil.  This was a century ago (rf. our era of abundance now). 

Henry Ford’s 10^th million car was built in 1924. 

Gasoline was cheap.  It is health, it is comfort, it is success.  The magic of gasoline was the miracle of mobility.  Gasoline stations became the secular temples for Americans on the road.

More people were producing more oil than ever before.  The real issue was the ever increasing supply. 

CM “Dad” Joiner had a gusher:  45 x 10 miles in area. 

Oil prices dropped to 10¢… 6¢... 2¢ a barrel, and it was a big threat to both independents and majors alike.

The excess of oil became a central obsession.  It touched the lives of all Americans, no matter how poor. 

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD

`The Prize (2) "Empires of Oil"

The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power is Daniel Yergin's history of the global oil industry from the 1850s through 1990. The Prize became a bestseller owing to its release date: it was published in October 1990, two months after the invasion of Kuwait ordered by Saddam Hussein and three months before the U.S.-led coalition began the Gulf War to oust Iraqi troops from that country.  It eventually went on to win the Pulitzer Prize. 

The Prize has been called the "definitive" history of the oil industry, even a "bible".

My notes

Oil was transforming the world at the beginning of the 20^th century.  

Russia became a powerful competitor to the US.  In Baku, Ludwig Nobel did a lot to build the Russian oil industry.  He was known as the Russian Rockefeller.  Their rapid expansion took on Standard Oil power.

But Standard Oil had great global intelligence, and had cash might to drop prices to win a market and raise it elsewhere, thereby keeping its high profitability.

Standard Oil dominance was soon to be challenged by Royal Dutch (Henry Deterding) and Shell (Marcus Samuel). Samuel longed for social acceptance. 

Alfred Nobel invented dynamite, and later on established the Nobel Prize.

The Samuel brothers helped to industrialize Japan, and they also collected Japanese artifacts.  They knew they had opportunities in oil trading, but was fully aware of Standard Oil power.

The Samuels wanted to ship oil via the Suez Canal, and while there was some hesitation by Canal authorities and while there were blocking efforts by Standard Oil, they succeeded.  Then, it was a matter of time before they commanded the Far East, working aggressively and expediently. 

Marcus Samuel was the entrepreneur sort, who hated organization, process and bureaucracy. 

Henry Deterding was born into Dutch middle class.  Royal Dutch was meant to manage oil discovered in colonies.  His hobby was reading companies’ balance sheets (rf. Warren Buffet), not drinking. 

Local sultans in the East Indies got rich selling land for oil exploration. 

Together with Samuel, Deterding set up a joint marketing campaign based in the UK.  This way, he could draw on Shell’s foothold and networks.

Samuel became Lord Mayor of London, which was his ultimate ambition. 

Samuel struck a contract with a Texan oil producer, but something went awry.

Meanwhile Baku was growing in turmoil à la revolution.  Baku became the center of ethnic insurrection, which burned oil fields.  All hell, let loose.

Shell was seriously compromised.  Samuel was told the only way to survive was to merge it with Royal Dutch.

Standard Oil quickly took a lead in supplying gasoline for cars.  

But with Shell on board, Deterding succeeded in the US where Samuel didn’t. 

The Supreme Court ruled Standard Oil an illegal monopoly, and ordered it to break up ▪ Mobil | Esso | Chevron | Amoco. 

Which was a boon to Royal Dutch Shell, which would’ve had a tough time against Standard Oil.

Anglo-Persian eventually became British Petroleum. 

George Reynolds, an English geologist, stubbornly kept going at exploring oil.  May 26^th 1908 was the day he finally struck oil in the Middle East (Persia). 

Deterding (d. 1939) was the greatest oil man, since Rockefeller.  He took on Standard Oil in all corners of the world, following World War One.   

The vision of Deterding and Samuel (d. 1927) shaped the oil industry in the 20^th century.  

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD

`The Prize (1) "Our Plan"

The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power is Daniel Yergin's history of the global oil industry from the 1850s through 1990. The Prize became a bestseller owing to its release date: it was published in October 1990, two months after the invasion of Kuwait ordered by Saddam Hussein and three months before the U.S.-led coalition began the Gulf War to oust Iraqi troops from that country.  It eventually went on to win the Pulitzer Prize. 

The Prize has been called the "definitive" history of the oil industry, even a "bible".

My notes

Ida M Tarbell investigated John D Rockefeller.

Before 1859, oil was called petroleum. Most of the oil, called rock oil or Seneca oil, was used for medicine. You could also refine it, and make it into kerosene as a new illuminant in the 1800s.

Native Americans used it as war paint and for maintaining their canoes.  But the White Man commercialized it.

August 28th 1859 oil bubbled up from a piping hammered into the ground. That was Col. Drake’s fortune.

In the early days oil exploration and production was chaos. It was based on the Rule of Capture (rf. several straws in a milkshake).

David Rockefeller, grandson of John D., was among those interviewed for this episode.

Rockefeller created economies of scale from his first oil company, and used these as bargaining power with railroads.

He aimed to take control of all oil companies via all sorts of business practices, including “drawback,” thereby eliminating competition.

The Self Improvement Company – also known as the mysterious thieves and the Black Anaconda – was the beginning of the oil war.

Unfettered post-Civil War business ▪ If you could get away with it, you got away with it.

Rockefeller (Chowder) was obsessed with secrecy, for example, using a separate dictionary of codes, and this underpinned what amounted to espionage.

Companies could not compete with Standard Oil (Club). They either sold out or went out of business.

He became independently wealthy, that is, apart from oil. He kept a discreet life with his family on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, avoiding the ostentations of his wealthy peers.

The power to make money is a gift from God, and he meant to use it for the good of man. It also meant, to him, gaining complete mastery of the oil industry.

At the beginning of 1870s, he owned 10% of the industry. By end of the decade it was 90%, including its transport.

John Archibald, Acme Oil Company. He was tasked to crush competitors.

They were appalled by the rise of the modern corporation. It all seemed undemocratic and unAmerican to Ida Tarbell. She saw the human cost to his father and his business and family.

By end of 1870s the independents built a long-distance pipeline, the first of its kind, as a last-ditch battle against Rockefeller’s monopoly. But the latter built a bigger, longer, and better pipeline.

Standard Oil was the first of the multinational corporations. It also had its own fleet of ships.

Rockefeller ▪ work by day, worry by night. The richest American in his time.

Oil was about the kerosene business in its first 40 years. So Thomas Edison’s invention of the light bulb was a threat.  But soon thereafter the automobile emerged. By one Henry Ford.

Theodore Roosevelt was a champion against monopoly, and gunned for Standard Oil in particular.

McClure’s Magazine commissioned 44-year old Ida Tarbell to investigate Rockefeller for its series on the oil monopoly. She was an accomplished journalist at that point, and had three well-known biographies to her credit.

`The Story of Rockefeller article laid the groundwork for more stories, that is, damaging revelations, about the titan. By 1905 – 1906 he had no place to hide.

By 1911 Standard Oil was given six months to dissolve itself. John Archibald said, Life was one thing after another.  Mobil, Exxon and Chevron were born from the post-monopoly break-up.

Hatred for Rockefeller translated into public hatred for the oil industry and big business in general.

Because he had shares in the breakup companies, his fortunes actually doubled. He funded the University of Chicago, right?

He died in 1937 at age 97, 25 months shy of his aimed century of life.

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD