Book Review: Titan by Ron Chernow

There’s a lot we can learn from the man. Both things to do and things not to do, but first, we must understand him.

This is the book that has taken me the longest time to read. It is an 800+ magnum opus. I started reading it sometime in 2015; I’ve been on and off since then. I completed it last week. Titan is a comprehensive book. The most comprehensive book about John D Rockefeller Sr. contained so much information that I felt it had too much at some point, but that's incorrect. This should be the standard for biographies. 

Ron Chernow approaches this book with the view that John D Rockefeller has often been misrepresented and misunderstood. Socialists and progressives often portray him as the symbol of the barons who ran America in the 19th Century. In other writings, you would see him as the villain who destroyed competition using whatever means, destroyed labour unions, bribed his way to get the government out of the way, and cheated poor laborers of their wages. But is this correct? No. That is only half of the story. 

Christians like to remember John D Rockefeller as the good Christian Sunday School teacher who taught children every Sunday, donated to church causes, donated to missionary efforts, and funded schools. 

And some like to remember him as a pioneer—a bold visionary who created a large company that provided light for people. As an editor said, Rockefeller, extended the work hours with his oil. He added value to humanity. He took risks for his business. 

Each of these is merely a single story about the man. The true Rockefeller is a combination of all these. If you are courageous enough to hold all these thoughts in your head about the man, then you have understood him. Unfortunately, only a few people can do this. This has been the contention for many who get introduced to Rockefeller. They want to celebrate or hate him; they refuse to acknowledge he was a complex man.

Ron Chernow does an excellent job of presenting Rockefeller in all his complexity. Rockefeller was a highly disciplined business visionary who took great risks to establish a business behemoth. One time, Rockefeller tried to convince his board members to partake in a business venture, but they all refused. Do you know what he did? He told them he would put his personal money, and then if it failed, he would bare the loss, but if it succeeded, they could take the profits. This daring is crazy. 

When he turned 60, his son wanted to gift him a Lincoln car. At this point, he was the richest man in the world and had passed on millions of dollars to his son. When his son told him he wanted to gift him a Lincoln car, John asked what the cost. 12,000 dollars he was told. He said he preferred to receive the money than the car. The son gave him the money, and he invested in a stock. This level of discipline is impressive. 

Right from his teenage years, Rockefeller developed a level of self-discipline that marked the whole of his career. Nearly everyone who met him testified to how self-controlled he was. In meetings where he is insulted, he would sit still and just take in everything. Only once in a while would he utter any words. In moments when others expected outbursts, Rockefeller would calmly give a response. At the peak of his criticism, when Ida Tarbell wrote the most piercing articles against him and Standard Oil, Rockefeller did not give a single response. 

The Ida Tarbells articles represent the cumulative controversies that Rockefeller would face. Tarbell's work did a lot of damage to Rockefeller, but she made the world a better place. It was the works of people like Tarbells that caused monopolies to be broken up and social reforms to be initiated by the government and businesses. 

Rockefeller was an extremely pious man. In fact, he was pious to a fault. He raised a son who took everything hook, line, and sinker from his dad and this affected the way he raised his own children. Rockefeller set expectations high, too high. 

More than the troubles with critics, the most nagging trouble Rockefeller faced in his life were his father and his brother, Frank. His father, Willam Avery Rockefeller, was a con man for many years who sold snake oils as cures for diseases. As a boy, William would constantly cheat John in their games. William claimed he was teaching John how to be crafty. In one final cheat, William would marry another woman in another state and spend the rest of his life with her. He never told his first wife, John’s mother. John never forgave his father for this. For many years, the relationship between father and son can only be described as tumultuous. John's brother, Frank, would be angry with John for most of his adult life. Constantly releasing news bits that are provoking and insulting to John. Their relationship broke down due to Frank’s indiscipline, which John could not withstand. It is worth stating that John would pay Frank’s many debts behind his back. John would provide many loans to Frank through their siblings, but Frank still hated his brother to the grave. I can only imagine how painful it must have been to be in this situation. 

The Rockefeller philanthropies made a big difference in the world. They built schools, funded medical research, funded national parks, and undertook several projects in different countries. Contrary to many stories, the Rockefeller philanthropies pour from an altruistic mindset. Rockefeller just loved to give. Even when he was poor, he was giving already. Moreso, he tried hard to ensure his charities do not have his name on it. He just wanted to give without his identity being known. In his local church, he often squeezed envelopes with cash to congregants through the pastor with a strict warning that his name should never be mentioned. For many years, he paid half the bills of his church. He once said, “I believe it is a religious duty to get all the money you can, fairly and honestly; to keep all you can, and to give away all you can.”

There’s a lot we can learn from the man. Both things to do and things not to do, but first, we must understand him. That is what Ron Chernow has helped us achieve. If you seek to understand Rockefeller, then you should read this.