giofranchi Posted January 6, 2014 Author Share Posted January 6, 2014 (Henry) Ford was struck by Rockefeller’s calm, leathery face and keenly observant eyes. “As soon as I saw his face I knew what had made the Standard Oil Company,” he said. Gio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giofranchi Posted January 6, 2014 Author Share Posted January 6, 2014 Benjamin Franklin once observed, "I believe long habits of virtue have a sensible effect on the countenance," and Rockefeller's nature became engraved in his aging face. The finely wrinkled, papery flesh told of frugality, the steady gaze of resolute purpose, the masklike face of cunning and craft. Gio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 I'm going through this one now (the audio version). It's a little dry but can be pretty interesting and entertaining in spots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giofranchi Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 I'm going through this one now (the audio version). It's a little dry but can be pretty interesting and entertaining in spots. Truth be told, the second half of the book is much less interesting than the first one. Either you want to know about philanthropy and family affairs, or you can skip it altogether… And I couldn’t care less about both philanthropy and family affairs! ;) Yet, imo, the first half is enough to make this book a fantastic read! Mr. Rockefeller has been the richest man, if compared to the size of the economy in which he operated, who ever lived: anyone interested in the accumulation of wealth should study and understand his methods. Gio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I'm going through this one now (the audio version). It's a little dry but can be pretty interesting and entertaining in spots. Truth be told, the second half of the book is much less interesting than the first one. Either you want to know about philanthropy and family affairs, or you can skip it altogether… And I couldn’t care less about both philanthropy and family affairs! ;) Yet, imo, the first half is enough to make this book a fantastic read! Mr. Rockefeller has been the richest man, if compared to the size of the economy in which he operated, who ever lived: anyone interested in the accumulation of wealth should study and understand his methods. Gio What are some of his methods you liked? From what I've seen so far, he was a shady businessman that had a dual life (angel in giving and devil in business). The books does talk about how it's important to have a good work ethic and thrift, which I can agree to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giofranchi Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 What are some of his methods you liked? From what I've seen so far, he was a shady businessman that had a dual life (angel in giving and devil in business). The books does talk about how it's important to have a good work ethic and thrift, which I can agree to. Well, I think the quotes that make this thread say enough about Mr. Rockefeller’s methods and character traits. I would add two things though: 1) It is important to recognize, if ever there was a right man in the right place, it was Mr. Rockefeller: the oil industry simply became the biggest thing on earth during his lifetime… Therefore, imo a very substantial component of luck cannot be ruled out… 2) The importance of “cooperation” or, in the absence of cooperation, the importance of “consolidation” in an industry without great barriers to entry. I remember that also Mr. Buffett said something similar regarding insurance: actually, he spoke about “regulation”, which in the end is nothing but a sort of “forced cooperation”. ;) Gio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wondering Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 This book is probably my favourite business biography. Excellent read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorpRaider Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Finally reading this one. Pretty good so far. Interesting that John Jr. wore handed down dresses from his older sisters until age 8 even though daddy already owned the largest refinery in america. Also, all 4 (or maybe 5) kids shared one bicycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCLarkin Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 This book saved me from trying to catch the falling oil & gas knife. The history of oil & gas independents through boom and bust cycles was well worth the price of the book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorpRaider Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Yeah I am well into the book and the construction of the Standard (he's already the largest refiner and richest man in the U.S.) and he has yet to invest in any E&P ops. He's building up via the downstream and midstream. Crazy booms and busts in oil were going on. One month they are running out, then someone hits a new well and prices drop by 75%. One funny/interesting thing I didn't know is that "experts" were calling for peak oil from about the time of the first strike in PA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 This was a great book. I just finished it a few days ago. I recommend it to anyone interested in business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VersaillesinNY Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 An interesting article and video on David Rockefeller 1915-2017 (Grandson of John Davison Rockefeller, Sr.) http://www.christies.com/features/David-Rockefeller-and-the-art-of-giving-8963-3.aspx I am convinced that material things can contribute a lot to making one's life pleasant, but, basically, if you do not have very good friends and relatives who matter to you, life will be really empty and sad and material things cease to be important. David Rockefeller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurgis Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 Great article. Thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rukawa Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 What are some of his methods you liked? From what I've seen so far, he was a shady businessman that had a dual life (angel in giving and devil in business). The books does talk about how it's important to have a good work ethic and thrift, which I can agree to. I think that what Rockfeller did in business was a lot more socially beneficial to American society than Buffett. I also don't see how he was a shady businessman. I find it weird how the businessmen of the nineteenth century are considered these evil Robber Barrons when if you look at the era all you end up seeing is vast reductions in poverty, large improvements in living standards, low unemployment, rising salaries and lower costs across the board. On the other hand Buffett's great skill appears to be choosing companies that are able to increase prices repeatedly without losing market share. Even today people have problems with guys like Bezos and Uber's former CEO but again these are the guys lowering prices and expanding service. Uber would have never gotten as far as it did if they were "nice"...they would have been complied with government laws and that would have been the end of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rb Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 Even today people have problems with guys like Bezos and Uber's former CEO but again these are the guys lowering prices and expanding service. Uber would have never gotten as far as it did if they were "nice"...they would have been complied with government laws and that would have been the end of that. Yea, I have a problem with that. Did we really get to a place where it's ok not to comply with laws as long as you make money? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rukawa Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Even today people have problems with guys like Bezos and Uber's former CEO but again these are the guys lowering prices and expanding service. Uber would have never gotten as far as it did if they were "nice"...they would have been complied with government laws and that would have been the end of that. Yea, I have a problem with that. Did we really get to a place where it's ok not to comply with laws as long as you make money? The taxi monopoly is the result of lobbying and pushing by entrenched cabbie interests...mostly people who in the early days of taxis realized they could make a lot of money if they could control the supply of cabs. The regime created does not serve the public interest now. But its a low priority in a democratic society compared to other issues. Not to mention the fact the voter turnout for municipal elections is abysmal. So the only people that end up shouting and lobbying the hardest are the monopolists. And the issue never gets resolved. Also ordinary voters and consumers will never vote for a change because they have no clue what the counterfactual world would look like. They don't know whether it would be better or worse. And the entrenched monopoly can come up with all kinds of reasons not to change: health and safety, driver training etc which an ordinary person doesn't have the time or inclination to think critically about. There is also zero empirical evidence that any of these laws did anything whatsoever to improve health and safety. One way to get around this impasse is to break the law. But lets understand what that means. Uber didn't murder someone. They didn't break into someones house. They didn't dump toxic sludge into a river. Your statement mentions breaking the law...but that covers a huge range of things which go right from murder to jay-walking. You fail to distinguish between any of this and treat it as the same thing...one big blob that is somehow all the same. Uber broke a bad law that was not serving the public interest and the evidence of this is that once the public had experience with Uber they prevented politicians from getting rid of Uber. The fact that for decades the voters did nothing to change the law and only after they experienced Uber they decided a change was necessary is evidence of Democratic failure (the political system not the party). The real travesty is not what Uber did...its the fact that they had to break the law in order to show us something better. In a properly functioning system those laws would not have been there in the first place. Ultimately what your really arguing is that Uber should have just behaved more like the taxi monopoly and spend decades cultivating a network of compliant politicians. I can't see how your solution..intensive lobbying, chummy networks is a good thing. Or do you have something better in mind? I also can't see how it would have worked given that a law-abiding Uber would have been making no money and therefore couldn't fund such a lobbying effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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