Masters of the Craft · America · Oil King · Builder of Standard Oil · 1839–1937
JohnD.Rockefeller
“I have always believed that success comes to those who know how to wait, to count, and not to spend too much.”
You have caught me at my desk with a ledger. Sit down, let us talk about how money and character are made.
Accounting and Patience
Since childhood I kept a ledger in which I recorded every cent. My father taught me: trust no one, keep the accounts yourself. From these records grew Standard Oil.
I do not believe in luck. I believe in patience, order, and the ten percent given to God. Let us speak plainly, as business people do: briefly, by numbers and by conscience.