When John D. Rockefeller was a young boy, he said that his two
greatest ambitions were to make $100,000 and to live to be 100
years old. He died on May 23, 1937, just 26 months to his 100th
birthday and with a net worth of $1.4 billion. Over a forty-year
career that was mired in controversy, Rockefeller made a name
for himself in America’s budding oil industry. He built Standard
Oil into the largest company in the world and eventually also
became the richest man in the world. Adjusting for inflation,
some experts suggest that Rockefeller was the richest human
being ever to have lived. Born November 13, 1810 in Richford,
New York, John Davison Rockefeller was the second of six
children to parents William and Eliza. William was a traveling
salesman in the business of selling such suspect things as
cancer cures. While he was away, it was left to Eliza to take
care of the home. The family moved around, first to Moravia and
later, Owego, where Rockefeller attended Owego Academy. In 1853,
the family moved to Strong