Rockefeller

Question 1

How did Rockefeller feel about possessions?

Answer 1

He had a puritan distaste for possessions – he likes the game of winning money, but he could do without many of its spoils other than the greater purse that allows him to play bigger hands. “he avoids ostentation and unnecessary expenditure, as well as conscious enjoyment of his power, and is embarrassed by the outward signs of the social recognition which he receives.” (Chernow 120)

Question 2

Did Rockefeller ever indulge?

Answer 2

Yeah, one example: In the 1870s, his records show, he paid stupendous sums – from $10,000 to $12,500 – for thoroughbred trotters with such evocative names as Midnight, Flash, Jesse, Baron, and Trifle. (Chernow 121)