Similarities of Andrew Carnegie and John D Rockefeller

Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller were two of the most noteworthy entrepreneurs in US History during the Industrialization era. Each of them had their own particular manners of keeping their organizations on top and prevailing. The total control of all aspects for their business and running it with incredible authority to control a portion of the American economy is what caused them to have a huge impact on Industrialization during the late 20th century. The similarities and differences between the businesses controlled by Carnegie and Rockefeller will be examined as well as the historical significance of each.

Both Carnegie and Rockefeller have many similarities. They both came from families with little to nothing and later became very successful businessmen. Rockefeller and Carnegie owned major companies that monopolized their personal industries and crumbled all competition. The two were very controlling of their businesses and believed in the Social Darwinism theory that only the strongest survive. They each wished to limit competition in order to become wealthy and successful and ruled the business world at taking risks and aggressive strategies. They were both very prosperous and gave back to the community and have left their footprint on American Society. If they were to be alive today, they would without a doubt be two of the richest men in the world.

Two of the most well-known and successful companies of the Industrial Revolution were the Standard Oil Company and the Carnegie Steel Company. Both were extremely successful in removing all competition in their respective fields of business and controlling almost all of the production capacity of their respective products in the US. Their founders, Rockefeller of the Standard Oil Company, and Carnegie of the Carnegie Steel Company conducted business practices that were different from one another. Carnegie used a method known as “vertical integration” to control the iron industry. Vertical integration was when a company would take ownership of a business in the different stages of production and distribution within the same industry. Carnegie Steel Co. didn’t just control steel mills but also railroads, mines, and other enterprises. Rockefeller used the method “horizontal integration” to control the oil industry. Horizontal integration was a corporate combination where a set of businesses that do identical things merge. Rockefeller bought many refineries in order to expand horizontally. He later switched to vertical integration but began much differently. Another difference is that Carnegie believed that a man should first gain wealth and then use that wealth to improve the general well-being. He established many schools and set up philanthropic foundations. Unlike Carnegie, Rockefeller started giving once antitrust efforts came in on his oil company. He also was a philanthropist he just had a slightly different reason for doing so. Another difference is how the two dealt with competition. Due to the cheap prices of his steel, Carnegie forced other mills in Pennsylvania to be bought. The other competitors couldn’t make a profit off of selling their steel for such a low price therefore Carnegie was able to buy out their mills. Dissimilarly, Rockefeller was known to have hired thugs or take part in alliances with other corporations to increase prices. He would directly and roughly remove competition while Carnegie would only decrease his prices to do so.

Carnegie and Rockefeller had pros and cons in the ways that they conducted their businesses. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil had a great impact on society. It set new standards for corporations and businesses and is part of the reason oil is still a blossoming industry today. Carnegie’s donations have helped libraries around the country take off and have positively impacted society.