What the Richest Man of All Time Can Teach us

Gaju Bhat
Gaju Bhat
Jul 30, 2017 · 2 min read

John D Rockefeller was a mysterious figure to me before I read Titan. I came away with arguably as comprehensive a look into his life as one is ever going to get and a sense of admiration for the man.

Some of the lessons are obvious. But it is the kind of obviousness that bears repeating.

1. John D had a strong bedrock of religious belief, however self-contradictory it might have been at times, that let him go through his business life with a single-minded zeal. As an atheist and agnostic, I’m reminded of the power of belief even if it’s not in an all powerful deity.

2. Like many magnates, he chose an industry, oil refining in his particular case, that was very small but growing rapidly. But it is hard to imagine even he could’ve anticipated the central role that industry was to play in the decades to come.

3. People betray you for reasons you can never really wrap your head around. As an example, John D’s own brother, Frank, displays ingratitude that borders on lunacy. Keep calm and carry on.

4. Public relations are really important as your business grows in visibility. For the longest time, John D assumed the muckrakers’ publications did not merit a response and he undeservedly let himself become one of the most hated men of America for a while.

5. To succeed in business, you need to focus on the vital few aspects while delegating or ignoring the rest. John D did this masterfully.

6. Choosing a successor can be tricky and John D probably faltered at this. John D Archbold, while maintaining the financial trajectory of Standard Oil, displayed a lack of political shrewdness that eventually led to the break up of Standard oil.

7. His unending riches could not help him escape his own mortality. They could not help him with alopecia either. In a lighter vein, I should mention they did help him buy a collection of wigs of varying lengths to simulate his growing hair.

8. It’s easy to be blind to criticism when one is successful. John D fell victim to this.

9. John D’s attitude toward philanthropy strikes me as very generous yet prudent. While giving away vast portions of his wealth, he did not want to make any single recipient of his largesse dependent on him.

10. Within the limits of the law, monopolies are the ideal business models for the entrepreneur. Peter Thiel has similar points to make in his book.

Gaju Bhat

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Gaju Bhat

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