Want to learn the ideas in Titan better than ever? Read the world’s #1 book summary of Titan by Ron Chernow here.

Read a brief 1-Page Summary or watch video summaries curated by our expert team. Note: this book guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher or author, and we always encourage you to purchase and read the full book.

Video Summaries of Titan

We’ve scoured the Internet for the very best videos on Titan, from high-quality videos summaries to interviews or commentary by Ron Chernow.

1-Page Summary of Titan

Overview

John D. Rockefeller was the classic American dream story. He grew up poor, but he worked hard and became successful. His wealth allowed him to do great things for others, which made him a philanthropist in the end.

Rockefeller was a successful businessman who made Standard Oil the largest oil company in America. However, when his company was broken up by government regulators, he didn’t worry because he’d invested wisely and became even richer than before. After that, Rockefeller gave away money to charities and other causes through his foundation.

In this article, you’ll learn about the research that inspired John Rockefeller and his business practices. You’ll also learn how many Nobel Prize winners owe him a debt of gratitude.

Big Idea #1: Young John D. Rockefeller’s family relocated often thanks to his absentee father.

In the early 1700s, a German named Johann Peter Rockefeller owned a mill. He moved to America with his family and settled in New Jersey. Over time, he acquired more properties and became rich when one of his descendants created Standard Oil Company.

John D. Rockefeller was born in 1839, and he later became known as the oil titan. He grew up in Richford, New York, which at that time was a growing industrial center with sawmills and whiskey distilleries.

In the early 1840s, Rockefeller’s father decided to move his family from Richford to Moravia. He left behind the rest of his hard-drinking hillbilly relatives. While in Moravia, young John watched as his father’s business took off and he became a respectable member of society.

The Rockefellers were a religious family. John D. Rockefeller was raised as a Baptist, and the Church played an important role in his life. He developed Protestant work ethics and learned to value continuous self-improvement from the teachings of the Baptist religion.

However, in the spring of 1850, the family moved once more – this time to Owego on the Pennsylvania border – after Bill was accused of raping a young househelp. He was often absent for months at a time and he had left his son behind before.

When Jay was away, Eliza gave him chores to do around the house. This made him mature quickly. In fact, he became a father figure for his siblings.

Big Idea #2: By the age of 16, Rockefeller enthusiastically entered the world of business, and met with rapid success.

In 1853, the Rockefeller family moved to Strongsville. This was a town near Cleveland and it meant that they were moving into a more prosperous area. They had been forced to move several times before this because of their father’s job but each time it signified an increase in social status. Bill was well educated from his time at Owego Academy and he arrived in Strongsville at the age of 17 as a young man with ambition.

Two years later, in 1855, Rockefeller began looking for a job. The market was tough to get into because of his age but he continued looking until he found one. He got a job as an assistant bookkeeper with Hewitt and Tuttle where he would write letters, keep the books and collect debts.

The boy felt free and was no longer financially dependent on his father. He had a strong sense of independence, which he gained from working at Hewitt & Tuttle.

When a friendship with 28-year-old Englishmen, Maurice B. Clark led to a business opportunity, Rockefeller took it and ran with it. In 1858, they founded the partnership, Clark and Rockefeller. Their venture was initially based on buying and selling oil products but eventually led them into refining as well thanks to chemist Samuel Andrews who discovered how to refine oil.