John D. Rockefeller’s striking quote on wealth: ‘I know of nothing more despicable and pathetic…’ – One of history’s richest men on chasing money

John D. Rockefeller spent much of his life doing something that made him one of the wealthiest people in modern history: making money. Yet Rockefeller, the industrialist who built the Standard Oil empire, believed wealth could become meaningless when accumulation itself became the purpose of existence. His sharpest warning was aimed not at poverty, ambition or financial success, but at the person who allowed money to consume every waking hour.

That contradiction gives his famous words their enduring force. Rockefeller knew extraordinary wealth firsthand, but he argued that money should remain a means rather than become the meaning of life.

Who was John D. Rockefeller?

John D. Rockefeller was born on July 8, 1839, in Richford, New York. Although he lived a fairly humble life until his family relocated to Ohio, he began working as a teenage assistant bookkeeper before joining the commodities and oil trade.

In 1870, Rockefeller set up Standard Oil in partnership with other businessmen. The business grew exponentially and soon emerged as a dominant player in the American oil business. By the 1890s, the Rockefeller Archive Center estimated that Standard Oil controlled about 75 percent of the US petroleum business.

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His business practices helped make him extraordinarily wealthy but also attracted intense criticism. He was accused of employing harsh tactics that resulted in the elimination of competition. In 1911, the Supreme Court declared the violation of federal antitrust laws by Standard Oil and ordered it to be split up.

Rockefeller had already stepped back from active leadership years earlier. From the mid-1890s onward, philanthropy increasingly became the focus of his life.

He became one of America’s greatest philanthropists, allocating huge amounts of money to support education, medicine, medical research and public health. His contributions led to the establishment of the University of Chicago and several other institutions, such as the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, which later became Rockefeller University.

The Rockefeller Foundation was created in 1913, and his philanthropic work totaled hundreds of millions of dollars. One of his important contributions in the field of public health was related to the Rockefeller Sanitary Commission, which helped to fight hookworm disease in the South of America.

Quote of the day

Rockefeller wrote in Random Reminiscences of Men and Events:

“I know of nothing more despicable and pathetic than a man who devotes all the hours of the waking day to the making of money for money's sake.”

What does Rockefeller’s quote mean?

The central idea conveyed by the quote is that money can be helpful, but becomes useless if the pursuit of money is the sole motive of one’s life.

It does not mean that Rockefeller was encouraging individuals to be lazy or unsuccessful financially. On the contrary, his whole life can be seen as an example that he believed in diligence, initiative, and economic success.

However, it contradicts the statement that gaining more means being better. One may earn a great deal during the day, but have no time for other activities such as spending time with family, improving health, studying, doing volunteer work, etc.

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Money can provide security and opportunity, but it cannot by itself supply meaning. The question eventually becomes what the wealth is for.

That idea was reflected in Rockefeller's own later life. After building an extraordinary fortune, he devoted enormous resources to institutions and causes intended to benefit education, medicine and public health.

More quotes by John D. Rockefeller

“The only question with wealth is, what do you do with it?”

“The impression was gaining ground with me that it was a good thing to let the money be my slave and not make myself a slave to money.”

“I believe it is a religious duty to get all the money you can, fairly and honestly; to keep all you can, and to give away all you can.”

“The most important thing for a young man is to establish a credit, a reputation, character.”