American industrialist with a prominent role in the oil industry (founder of Standard Oil - now Exxon/Mobil). Standard Oil (was at the time) the most profitable company in the world. Founder of the Rockefeller Foundation (1913) which focused on issues of public health, medical training, and the arts. By the time of his death in 1937, his fortune had grown to 1.4 billion in family trusts. As a percentage of US economy, no other fortune (including Bill Gates or Sam Walton) even come close.
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