Which American oil tycoon rose from an impoverished childhood in upstate New York to become the world's first billionaire?

In 1870, John D. Rockefeller Sr. founded Standard Oil Company and remained at the helm until stepping down in 1897. He remained the largest shareholder until 1911, when the company's oil industry monopoly had grown so great that the Supreme Court ordered its break up — an event that Rockefeller emerged from even richer. In 1913, he reached his peak net worth of $900 million — when adjusted for inflation, equal to more than $400 billion in today's dollars. In other words, more than Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk combined. Rockefeller is widely considered the wealthiest American of all time.

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