Evening star., 1937-05-24
{OCKEFELLER AMASSED MILLIONS FROM HUMBLE START
FORTUNE At DEATH
RELATIVELY SMALL
Spent Last 35 Years of Life
Giving Away Wealth He
Had Amassed.
By the Associated Press

By the Associated Press
John Dawson Rockefeller spent the
first half of his life making money
and the last half giving it away.
Il believe 1t is a duty" he said
many times. "for man to get all the
money he honestly can and to give
away all he can
His career described an almost per-
tect arc.
At the age Of l6 he began, with
nothing He was paid $50 for his first
three months work, as assistant book
keeper in produce commission ware
house on the lake front In Cleveland,
Ohio.
BY the time he had reached middle
age he had amassed what many
persons believed to be the largest
fortune ever controlled by a private
individual in the history of the world.
At the age of 81 he began to with
draw from active business life and
started giving money away. In IS
years he gave away considerably more
than half billion dollars, and one
of his associates remarked the world
would be surprised at the compare
lively small estate he would leave
when he died
The size of Rockefeller's fortune has
been a subject for public conjecture
Cor many years. 1t has never been
revealed. While some estimated it as
high as $2,400,000,000, persons close
to Mr.. Rockefeller place it at a much
lower figure. His son, John D. Rookie
feller. jr., once said it had never
reached billion. For many years.
however. Mr.. Rockefeller paid the
highest personal property tax in New
York. 1t ran to more than $l,000,-
600 year.
Mr.. Rockefeller's earning and giving
always over-lapped. He started his
contributions as a boys cents a
week to foreign missions, cents a
week to the poor. And many years
later-whether Pocantico Hills, Lake.
wood N. j., or Ormond Beach, Fla
he spent certain amount of time
each day keeping up with business
affairs.
Became Legendary Figure.
Although 1t was frequently said he
was much more actively concerned
with business than most people
thought, Mr.. Rockefeller, the founder
OF the Standard Oil Co. and pioneer
IN modern business organization, had
become something of a legendary
figure. He was much better known as
a whimsical cid gentleman who spent
his days in peaceful monotony at his
three country homes, passing out shiny
new dimes and playing golf.
Rockefeller began his retirement in
1896, but retained the title of presi-
dent of the Standard Oil Co. of New
Jersey until November, 1911. That
was just after the Standard Oil COM
bination had been dissolved by Fed
eral court decree.
In 1929, nearly 20 years later, he
publicly emerged from his retirement
on two occasions. Early that year be
announced he would support his son
In an effort to prevent the reelection
OF Col. Robert W. Stewart as director
and chairman Of the Standard Oil
Co. OF Indiana. He was then SO years
old.
In October 1929, when there was a
crash in Wall Street, he issued from
Pocantico Hills a reassuring state
ment In which he said he and his
son did not believe there was any
thing in the business situation to
warrant the destruction Of values re-
corded In the preceding week, and
announced they were both buying
common stocks. The market rallied.
At the time Of his retirement, ac-
counts Of the simplicity in which he
lived and the frugality of his diet led
TO popular belief that he was in
poor health, chronic sufferer from
indigestion. Mr.. Rockefeller many
years later said this was not true,
that he had always enjoyed rugged
health, possibly because Of that very
regimen.
Life Changed Little.
As 3 matter of fact, Mr.. Rocke-
Seller's life at Pocantico Hills and his
other homes did not differ much from
that which he had always lived-ex-
cept that, instead OF spending three
or four afternoons a week outdoors,
he spent every afternoon outdoors,
motoring as he grew older Even after
he went into his COS, he continued to
play golf every sunny morning, ex-
cept Sundays.
At the height of his business career,
Mr.. Rockefeller directed the affairs
OF 80 oil companies and Influenced
indirectly the policies of hundreds of
corporations, including many forms
OF modern industry Their combined
capitalization ran into the billions,
and they employed hundreds of thou
sands of men and women.
For several years his companies
controlled four-f1fths of the oil busi-
ness In the United States. He was
the business partner of many Ameri-
can milllonaires. He owned blocks of
stock In most of the trunk line rail-
roads in the United States. He con-
trolled mines and mills, notably the
Colorado Fuel and Iron Co.
But even in those active days he
found time to sleep an hour after
lunch every day. prolong his meals
with games Of numerical" and spend
several afternoons a week outdoors.
While he was q young man in Cleve-
land, organizing the Standard OH Co..
he used to take time off to work on
the grounds of his estate, 20 for drives
and bicycle rides.
Toward the end Of his life Mr.. Rock
efeller apparently wanted to get rid of
every sort Of responsibility. In July,
1925, he sold the Pocantico Hills es-
tate, near Tarrytown, N. $1,000
acres, covering 1919 square miles, it
eventually grew to be-his place at
Lakewood, N. j.; his town house in
New York, where he had not lived for
many years, and his Winter home at
Ormond Beach. Fla, to his son for
t3,068,00 So he actually did not own
any home.
Much Of the enlargement OF the Po-
eantico Hills estate was done after
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