In the 20th century, the USA had the most number of world’s richest individuals, which gave birth to the ‘American dream’ resulting in a number of people owning incredible fortunes. Today Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk have all become household names because of their billionaire status. However, none of them could have held a chance against the one titan of American business who could have outdone their combined wealth.
One of the most influential and controversial individuals of the 19th century who shaped the modern American economy was John D. Rockefeller. He was believed to have been owning around 3% of the country’s entire wealth at one point.
It was in 1937 when Rockefeller passed away and his fortune was valued at a staggering $1.4 billion. If adjusted for about a hundred years of inflation, that amount would have equated to a healthy $31 billion today.
In 1872, one man created an empire 4x the size of Apple.
But Rockefeller never drilled a single well.
He controlled something far more valuable.
The $400 Billion strategy that made a small-town bookkeeper the richest man in the world: pic.twitter.com/xI5DKCUrxf
— Gaurab Chakrabarti (@GaurabC) February 22, 2025
However, what is perhaps even more surprising is considering the percentage of the wealth he would control in today’s wealth. If calculated abruption, 3% of the entire country’s GDP would make him an owner of about $870 billion.
Now putting this huge sum of money into some context, as per Forbes’ real-time billionaire list, Elon Musk is worth $340 billion making him the richest individual in the world. If we make a total valuation of Musk with that of Bezos and Zuckerberg, the total comes to around $744 billion. Even after this Rockefeller would be left with an additional amount of $126 billion.
Even though determining a person’s exact wealth from past history can be challenging, various historians still regard Rockefeller as the richest person in modern history. Experts feel that one of his major sources of immense wealth came from oil. Rockefeller owned a company called Standard Oil, which once controlled a staggering 90% of America’s oil supply.
He was known as the ‘robber baron’ because he was an unashamed vicious businessman who would aggressively take over any rival that endangered him, thus expanding his dominance. However, in an unexpected twist, Rockefeller was mainly self-made. His father was a bit of a con artist, while his mother was a staunch Baptist. He was raised in a humble New York family with his five siblings.
Rockefeller started his career as a bookkeeper after he was compelled to leave the Big Apple for Ohio. It was in 1855 at the age of 16 that he entered the workforce. He later started a business with two of his partners where they sold food and supplies, which thrived during the Civil War.
In September 1916, John D Rockerfeller became the first ever earthling to be a billionaire.
Founder of the Standard Oil Company, his peak wealth would’ve been worth $418 Billion adjusted to today’s dollars.
Poor @elonmusk in comparison is only $228 Billion. pic.twitter.com/1RA7Ae65ut
— Srikanth Matrubai (@SrikantMatrubai) October 5, 2023
When the war ended and Rockerfeller’s trade began to fall, he quite cleverly transitioned into the oil business. He spotted opportunities for refined oil products and rapidly expanded. He went on to establish the world’s largest oil refinery in Cleveland and founded Standard Oil in 1865.
It was until 1911 that his rapid growth continued and wealth kept increasing until the US government enacted the Sherman Antitrust Act, a prohibition on monopolies. This led to Standard Oil being split into 34 new independent companies.
Despite multiple mergers and acquisitions since then, ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, and Royal Dutch Shell all trace their origins back to Standard Oil and Rockefeller ownership. After retirement, he became a forerunner to Bill Gates, devoting himself to philanthropy. As the University of Chicago’s founder, he poured millions of dollars in school construction, art exhibitions, and eradicating hookworm.
He died at the age of 97 in 1937, but his foundation still exists today.
