Popular Personalities in the Gilded Age

Andrew Carnegie and John Rockefeller were two of the most wealthiest men in the late 19th century. They were often called the captains of industry. Carnegie ran the steel industry while Rockefeller dominated the oil industry. Both men have made enormous contributions to the glided age and impacted their era in both positive and negative ways. But there is no doubt in my mind that John Rockefeller has had a greater impact on the economy than Carnegie. He provided the best oil at the lowest price, supported the less fortunate, and helped further the advancement of our country

        Even though Andrew Carnegie played a huge role in creating the technology that would later help shape america, I believe that John Rockefeller and his oil company has made and enormous impact on the economy- More than Andrew Carnegie ever will- whether it be positive or negative. Not only was Rockefeller one of the greatest business men of all time, but he tried to look out for poor people as well as the rich. Thats one of the reasons why he cut back the prices on his oil.Let the good work go on. We must ever remember we are refining oil for the poor man and he must have it cheap and good.(fee.org). Thats something he used to say a lot to all of his fellow businessmen. Even though he had the best oil and his company owned about 90% of americas oil refineries, He still managed to reduce the price of his oil tremendously. People salivated over the fact his oil was so efficient at such a low price. So they chose his standard oil over every other type of oil, which in return made him one of the wealthiest men in the history of america. This is one of the reasons why I think that he has had a greater impact on the economy than Andrew Carnegie who was also very wealthy. John Rockefeller was a people person. He positively impacted the lives of the less fortunate which resultantly impacted the economy in disguise because as his business grew, he started to use its power to make deals with other companies and industries which ultimately made the economy more successful as a whole.

        Another reason why I think John Rockefeller has had a greater impact on the economy than Andrew Carnegie is because after all of his success with his business and making all of the money that he did, He used his platform to support and donate to different charities and foundations all over america. He donated over half a billion dollars to education, religion, scientific causes, and to the less fortunate. He also funded two colleges: The university of Chicago and his very own Rockefeller University which in my opinion was the smartest move any businessman could make. If you want to make the most money, go into education. And I'm not talking about teaching. Im talking about owning the education facility itself. This was another way he contributed to the economy. He created a high academic institution for medical research. This ultimately helped further the advancement of america by producing future doctors and nurses. So another reason why John Rockefeller has had a greater impact on the economy than Andrew Carnegie is because he gave back to the community ( just like carnegie) but in strategic ways that helped not only him make money, but other large companies as well.

        John Rockefeller also negatively impacted the economy just as he did positively. Many people thought that his business was very corrupt. It has been rumored that he even bribed people to spy on the other oil companies and threatened those companies to sell him their livelihoods or he would force them out of business. All of that may be true, but we still cannot deny the fact that one man potentially shaped the future of america all because of oil. In my opinion, this makes him an even greater business man than Carnegie because sometimes you have bend the rules to see results. Rockefeller had that edge over everybody. He had a certain  Je ne sais quoi that made him more successful than Carnegie resulting in hm impacting the economy more.    

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