JD Rockefeller: The Business Tycoon Who Changed American SocietyFor 29 years, the Standard Oil Trust dominated the oil refining industry around the world. The leader of this magnificent franchise was the industrialist of the century, John Davison Rockefeller, Sr. Coming from humble beginnings, Rockefeller had to work hard to prosper in life. When he died, Rockefeller became the richest man of all time. He created the first American trust, which would quickly be copied by other companies, thus changing American society. The idea of ​​the trust created a huge divide between America's middle class and the "golden" upper class who controlled all major businesses and corporations in the mid-20th century. JD Rockefeller was born on July 8, 1839 into a humble, middle-class family in Richford, New York. With a strictly Baptist mother, Rockefeller's childhood was oriented toward religion, a tool his mother used to instill stability in her home. As soon as he was born, his mother moved her family all over the United States in search of the perfect place to reside. In 1853 the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and settled there. Rockefeller graduated from high school there and attended business school for a few months. At the age of 16, Rockefeller found employment as a clerk in a produce commission. Rockefeller joined the same company at age 19, with a young Englishman named Maurice Clark. Both men benefited greatly from Clark and Rockefeller's company. Thanks to Clark's exceptional work in the field and Rockefeller's organized office management and accounting, their business prospered during the Civil War. The company also diversified after the Pennsylvania oil strike of 1859...... middle of paper ......ent. Instead, family members worked together in close-knit communities. After the destruction of the Standard Oil empire, America changed a lot financially and economically. More and more huge corporations began to take over the landscape, in which the skilled labor of the past was rapidly being replaced by machines and unskilled labor. As more and more companies began paying minimum wage, business owners kept getting richer and workers earned barely enough to survive. As a result, the wealth of the middle class has remained roughly the same, but that of the upper class has increased exponentially. This boost marked the beginning of America's Gilded Age, during which industrialization expanded rapidly, but poverty levels increased due to falling minimum wages. In turn, the middle class began to suffer greatly, but the upper class lived a very affluent life..