Entrepreneurs: A History | BRI’s Homework Help Series

0:09 America’s economy was on the cusp of a major boom in the later parts of the 19th century. A series of entrepreneurs came along who were very significant. Depending on who you ask, they’ll either proudly refer to them as the captains of industry or grit their teeth, as they call them, the Robber Barons. The captains of industry. How cool does that sound? They were like the Beatles of the American economy.

0:32 Yeah. Robert Barron’s works. They were ruthless in their rise and practices and they had no regard for who they affected. Rockefeller is a good person to start with. When you’re a rich person, people refer to you as a Rockefeller. He had so much money that he. Taught rich people how to be rich. Oil was his game. He was born into a large family.

0:53 They moved around a lot before settling in Ohio. When he was 16, he worked as a bookkeeper. Within 20 years, he owned Standard Oil, which dominated the oil refinery industry in America. Wages exploded for countless Americans during this time. They began in Ohio and produced goods. So rapidly that they lowered the cost.

1:14 To the consumer and took over companies from other states. Rockefeller destroyed so many companies and had such a monopoly on oil that the government intervened and had to set up antitrust laws to preserve equal opportunity and private property for all entrepreneurs. It’s no wonder that that little man on the cover of that board game looks so much like him.

1:35 A Rockefeller was a shrewd businessman. But he was also a very generous philanthropist who gave away hundreds of millions of dollars to various causes that benefited communities. He founded the General Education Board, which. Donated money to higher education. He also helped lay the foundation for Medical Research in America.

1:56 Andrew Carnegie was another one. What Rockefeller was to oil, Carnegie was to steel. As technology advanced, so did his company, US. Steel. They made their own railroads, pipelines and delivery services. They were very savvy and produced goods that helped other companies expand. Carnegie got his hands dirty.

2:17 He worked on a railroad and in a mill before he made his loot. He knew what it meant to come home a little sweaty. Workers have been doing a great job and making great money. But there was a proposed wage cut. It was 1892. There was a work stoppage and tensions were high. Management brought in thousands of strike-breakers.

2:37 A massive fight broke out. It damaged Carnegie’s reputation. But like Rockefeller, he was a prolific philanthropist, setting up countless trust and foundation our country reaps the benefits of to this day. It was more than just Carnegie and Rockefeller. Henry Ford cultivated the automobile industry. JP Morgan led finance.

2:59 Their names still surround us. There’s. Carnegie Hall, Carnegie Mellon University, JP Morgan Bank, Ford Motor Company, Rockefeller Center. Even Jay-Z named Rockefeller. Records after Rockefeller. This generation has their own entrepreneurs specializing in technology, specializing in the tools and goods we use on a daily basis.

3:22 Steve Jobs and Apple. Jeff Bezos and Amazon. Elon Musk and whatever new space organization he’s forming this week. Pretty soon, Amazon is going to have an entire fleet of drones dropping off packages throughout the world. Commerce will be at an all time high. You’ll go to your door, look up and say, hey, drone, thanks for the coconut oil, see you tomorrow with my protein powder.

3:44 Companies are booming, but with technology evolving so rapidly, these companies need to keep pace or risk falling behind and losing everything. Even though some of their methods weren’t always universally loved, their ultimate goal was to be a positive force in American lives. This was another piece of evidence of history.