Random Reminiscences of Men and Events: Ledger A

John D. Rockefeller founded Standard Oil and became the richest man in modern history.In 1909 he wrote a short book of memories, and he began his chapter on money with his childhood.

“From early boyhood I kept a little book, which I called Ledger A, with my income and spending, and the small sums I was taught to give away regularly.When I was seven or eight, my mother helped me start my first business: I raised turkeys and sold them.She gave me milk curds to feed them, so all my receipts were profit.

At sixteen I needed a job, and I walked the streets of Cleveland for weeks, asking every merchant if he wanted a boy.No one wanted a boy, until at last a firm on the docks said, ‘We will give you a chance.’Not a word was said about pay, and after three months I was given fifty dollars, which was no doubt all I was worth.

I checked every bill, even for a few cents, because releasing my employer’s money felt more serious than spending my own.When I wanted to start my own firm, my father offered me early the thousand dollars he planned to give each child at twenty-one.‘But, John,’ he added, ‘the rate is ten.’”

Even from his own father, young Rockefeller paid interest, and he never forgot the lesson.