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On 10th January, 1870 John D. Rockefeller took his first steps towards becoming the world\u2019s richest ever person by forming his company, Standard Oil.\nHe had arrived in the oil industry at a time of wild instability when oil refining was almost a cottage industry. Rockefeller quickly realised that if he had control over not just the refineries but also the output and distribution of refined oil he could keep prices as high as he liked \u2013 a mode of thinking that his critics and rivals declared monopolistic.\xa0\nIn this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss what Rockerfeller was imagining oil might be useful for given cars hadn\u2019t been invented yet; reveal how he bankrupted his competitors; and explain why Winston Churchill turned down an invitation to write Rockerfeller\u2019s biography\u2026\xa0\nFurther Reading:\n\u2022 \u2018Biography of John D. Rockefeller, America's First Billionaire\u2019 (Thought Co, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/john-d-rockefeller-p2-1779821\xa0\n\u2022 \u2018John D. Rockefeller Was the Richest Person To Ever Live. Period\u2019 (TSmithsonian Magazine, 2017): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/john-d-rockefeller-richest-person-ever-live-period-180961705/\n\u2022 \u2018William Hague on William Pitt\u2019 (Cambridge University, 2010):\xa0\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0tHmYEaqok\n#1800s #US #Business\nLove the show? Join\xa0\U0001f334CLUB RETROSPECTORS\xa0\U0001f334 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!\nPlus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.\nJoin now via\xa0Apple Podcasts\xa0or\xa0Patreon.\xa0Thanks!\nWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:\xa0podfollow.com/Retrospectors\nThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.\nTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.\nCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices