1 00:00:06,590 --> 00:00:07,550 - (gunshot) 2 00:00:07,633 --> 00:00:10,553 - (shouting and indistinct clamor) 3 00:01:10,612 --> 00:01:15,072 - NARRATOR: Just five days after the end of the Civil War, 4 00:01:15,159 --> 00:01:17,619 President Abraham Lincoln is the final 5 00:01:17,703 --> 00:01:19,543 of the six hundred thousand deaths 6 00:01:19,621 --> 00:01:21,871 in America's bloodiest conflict. 7 00:01:24,668 --> 00:01:28,378 The country is divided, and the world looks 8 00:01:28,464 --> 00:01:32,094 at American democracy as a failed experiment. 9 00:01:35,804 --> 00:01:41,434 But what most don't realize is that a new era has dawned. 10 00:01:44,271 --> 00:01:47,941 The nation is entering an age of advancement, 11 00:01:48,734 --> 00:01:51,324 and from the void left by the death of perhaps 12 00:01:51,403 --> 00:01:53,913 the greatest statesman we will ever know, 13 00:01:53,989 --> 00:01:57,069 a new breed of leader will emerge. 14 00:01:57,159 --> 00:01:59,909 - DONNY DEUTSCH: The Rockefellers, the Fords, 15 00:01:59,995 --> 00:02:03,535 the Carnegies, were the first generation 16 00:02:03,624 --> 00:02:06,254 of what we know as now the entrepreneurial rock stars, 17 00:02:06,335 --> 00:02:07,955 or what are today are the Buffets, 18 00:02:08,045 --> 00:02:09,495 and the Jobs, and the Gates. 19 00:02:09,588 --> 00:02:12,468 They were the ones that set the standard for the American dream. 20 00:02:12,549 --> 00:02:15,839 They owned a new frontier-- literally and figuratively-- 21 00:02:15,928 --> 00:02:17,638 of who we are as a culture. 22 00:02:23,685 --> 00:02:26,395 - NARRATOR: Men of insight, innovation, 23 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:29,860 and ingenuity, the likes of which the world 24 00:02:29,942 --> 00:02:34,112 has never seen, and over the next five decades, 25 00:02:34,196 --> 00:02:36,606 this small group will change history, 26 00:02:37,950 --> 00:02:42,450 propelling the United States ofAmerica to greatness. 27 00:02:42,538 --> 00:02:44,998 - DONALD TRUMP: These were great men 28 00:02:45,082 --> 00:02:47,462 with a vision that nobody else had. 29 00:02:47,543 --> 00:02:49,213 And that's why in the last century-- 30 00:02:49,294 --> 00:02:52,304 that fifty year period-- we built the world. 31 00:02:57,177 --> 00:03:01,007 - (Blues Saraceno playing "Save My Soul") 32 00:03:11,316 --> 00:03:13,646 ♪ When I got to Memphis ♪ 33 00:03:14,528 --> 00:03:17,108 ♪ To put my ol' baby down ♪ 34 00:03:17,197 --> 00:03:20,867 ♪ He said, "I can't take you to Heaven" ♪ 35 00:03:20,951 --> 00:03:23,831 ♪ "I can't save your soul" ♪ 36 00:03:25,747 --> 00:03:28,327 ♪ "I can't promise forever" ♪ 37 00:03:28,417 --> 00:03:32,997 ♪ Whoa, yeah, got my heart in your hands ♪ 38 00:03:34,256 --> 00:03:36,126 ♪ I can't feel ♪ 39 00:03:37,384 --> 00:03:39,054 ♪ Feel my soul ♪ 40 00:03:43,390 --> 00:03:45,890 - (ship horn blows) 41 00:03:53,650 --> 00:03:55,480 - NARRATOR: For the first time in the country's 42 00:03:55,569 --> 00:03:57,859 short existence, the man most capable 43 00:03:57,946 --> 00:04:01,366 of leading America is not a politician. 44 00:04:02,951 --> 00:04:06,621 He's a self-made man, who, through sheer force of will, 45 00:04:06,705 --> 00:04:08,535 turned a poor upbringing on the docks 46 00:04:08,624 --> 00:04:11,714 of New York Harbor, into an empire. 47 00:04:20,218 --> 00:04:23,178 At sixteen, Cornelius Vanderbilt buys 48 00:04:23,263 --> 00:04:26,813 a small ferry boat with a one hundred dollar loan. 49 00:04:27,809 --> 00:04:31,939 He quickly earns a reputation as a cutthroat businessman, 50 00:04:32,022 --> 00:04:36,282 willing to use any means necessary to get ahead. 51 00:04:39,363 --> 00:04:43,163 - MARK CUBAN: Back then, it was just pure competition. 52 00:04:43,241 --> 00:04:44,661 My brain against your brain. 53 00:04:44,743 --> 00:04:46,243 My effort against your effort. 54 00:04:46,328 --> 00:04:47,698 You just competed. 55 00:04:59,758 --> 00:05:01,128 That's the way they looked at business. 56 00:05:01,218 --> 00:05:02,888 It was the Wild, Wild West, 57 00:05:02,970 --> 00:05:05,850 and by hook or crook, it was just win or lose, 58 00:05:05,931 --> 00:05:07,471 and the best win. 59 00:05:13,689 --> 00:05:14,939 - He was a tough guy. 60 00:05:15,023 --> 00:05:16,943 Getting into scraps with other men, 61 00:05:17,025 --> 00:05:19,605 beating the hell out of them and knocking them unconscious. 62 00:05:19,695 --> 00:05:22,275 That competitive streak, and that toughness, 63 00:05:22,364 --> 00:05:24,494 very much defined his character. 64 00:05:30,539 --> 00:05:32,579 - NARRATOR: His single ferry soon becomes 65 00:05:32,666 --> 00:05:36,626 a fleet of ships, transporting goods and passengers 66 00:05:36,712 --> 00:05:39,552 to every corner of the growing country. 67 00:05:41,049 --> 00:05:44,009 Vanderbilt will become so synonymous with shipping 68 00:05:44,094 --> 00:05:47,144 that his nickname becomes "the Commodore". 69 00:05:47,222 --> 00:05:49,222 - I think Vanderbilt recognized 70 00:05:49,307 --> 00:05:52,597 that what was going to be important is transporting goods 71 00:05:52,686 --> 00:05:53,686 from one place to another. 72 00:05:53,770 --> 00:05:57,360 And he had this idea that required infrastructure, 73 00:05:57,441 --> 00:05:59,731 and not infrastructure the government was going to provide, 74 00:05:59,818 --> 00:06:01,938 but that he was going to provide. 75 00:06:03,989 --> 00:06:06,199 - NARRATOR: Over the next forty years, 76 00:06:06,283 --> 00:06:10,373 Vanderbilt builds the largest shipping empire in the world. 77 00:06:11,872 --> 00:06:13,832 Then, at the peak of his power, 78 00:06:13,915 --> 00:06:17,875 just before the Civil War, he does the unthinkable. 79 00:06:27,429 --> 00:06:30,849 Work is under way on the first Transcontinental Railroad, 80 00:06:30,932 --> 00:06:32,812 and the Commodore realizes 81 00:06:32,893 --> 00:06:36,023 that its completion will transform America, 82 00:06:36,104 --> 00:06:39,574 slashing cross-country travel time by months. 83 00:06:40,442 --> 00:06:43,742 - H.W. BRANDS: Railroads were absolutely liberating, 84 00:06:43,820 --> 00:06:46,450 because the railroads allowed cheap 85 00:06:46,531 --> 00:06:48,531 and efficient transportation 86 00:06:48,617 --> 00:06:51,077 from one corner ofAmerica to another. 87 00:06:51,161 --> 00:06:53,541 - NARRATOR: Vanderbilt sees his future. 88 00:06:53,622 --> 00:06:56,872 He sells all of his ships and invests 89 00:06:56,958 --> 00:06:59,748 everything he has in railroads. 90 00:07:00,420 --> 00:07:02,630 - JACK WELCH: You talk about seeing around corners 91 00:07:02,714 --> 00:07:04,384 as an element of success. 92 00:07:04,466 --> 00:07:07,546 That's what differentiates a good leader. 93 00:07:07,636 --> 00:07:09,886 Not many people have it. 94 00:07:09,971 --> 00:07:14,061 Not many people can predict that corner. 95 00:07:14,684 --> 00:07:18,734 That is a characteristic of great leaders. 96 00:07:26,196 --> 00:07:28,526 - (train whistle blows) 97 00:07:28,990 --> 00:07:32,740 - NARRATOR: His decision to invest heavily in rail pays off. 98 00:07:32,828 --> 00:07:34,748 By the end of the war, Vanderbilt 99 00:07:34,830 --> 00:07:37,540 is the richest man in America, 100 00:07:37,624 --> 00:07:41,754 with a net worth of over sixty-eight million dollars, 101 00:07:41,837 --> 00:07:45,707 the equivalent of seventy-five billion today. 102 00:07:45,799 --> 00:07:48,719 But all that money can't buy his escape 103 00:07:48,802 --> 00:07:50,592 from the war's devastation. 104 00:07:53,682 --> 00:07:57,522 - (ship horn blows) 105 00:08:10,365 --> 00:08:12,155 In the wake of the Civil War, 106 00:08:12,242 --> 00:08:18,752 a country mourns publicly, while Vanderbilt does so privately. 107 00:08:28,508 --> 00:08:31,178 - FORTUNE TELLER: The first card is the past, 108 00:08:31,261 --> 00:08:36,141 the second, the present, and the third is the future. 109 00:08:42,105 --> 00:08:45,145 There has been an unexpected loss. 110 00:08:47,527 --> 00:08:49,487 Someone close to you. 111 00:08:50,322 --> 00:08:52,742 - VANDERBILT: My son. George. 112 00:08:57,204 --> 00:08:58,914 He died in the war. 113 00:09:01,583 --> 00:09:03,213 What about the future? 114 00:09:03,293 --> 00:09:06,053 - FORTUNE TELLER: The chariot. 115 00:09:06,129 --> 00:09:07,709 There will be a war. 116 00:09:09,257 --> 00:09:11,087 - VANDERBILT: The war's over. 117 00:09:11,176 --> 00:09:14,546 - No. Your war is about to begin. 118 00:09:19,226 --> 00:09:20,136 - Hey. 119 00:09:24,314 --> 00:09:25,564 Watch it, man! 120 00:09:26,775 --> 00:09:28,065 - (shouting) 121 00:09:29,611 --> 00:09:31,571 - (glass shattering) 122 00:09:34,616 --> 00:09:37,866 - NARRATOR: Tormented by the loss of his favorite son, 123 00:09:37,953 --> 00:09:41,373 Vanderbilt's empire is more vulnerable than ever before. 124 00:09:45,794 --> 00:09:48,924 - J.S. STILES: For Vanderbilt, this is a great tragedy. 125 00:09:49,005 --> 00:09:52,085 He had one son who had that same sense 126 00:09:52,175 --> 00:09:54,385 of physical strength and ability, 127 00:09:54,469 --> 00:09:56,469 and he had died when he was still quite young. 128 00:09:56,554 --> 00:09:58,934 It was deeply troubling for the Commodore. 129 00:10:00,558 --> 00:10:03,098 - NARRATOR: For years, Vanderbilt groomed George 130 00:10:03,186 --> 00:10:05,306 to take over the family business. 131 00:10:06,481 --> 00:10:08,901 Now, the Commodore is forced to rely 132 00:10:08,984 --> 00:10:12,284 on his less accomplished son, William. 133 00:10:18,159 --> 00:10:19,989 - I'm making you operations director 134 00:10:20,078 --> 00:10:21,908 of the Hudson Railroad. 135 00:10:26,710 --> 00:10:29,920 - NARRATOR: Vanderbilt places William in the midst 136 00:10:30,005 --> 00:10:34,125 of negotiations with the owners of a rival railroad. 137 00:10:35,176 --> 00:10:36,926 - So name your price. 138 00:10:39,639 --> 00:10:42,849 - If you give us your freight, year round, 139 00:10:43,226 --> 00:10:46,186 we will give you the privilege of allowing your passengers 140 00:10:46,271 --> 00:10:50,611 access into Manhattan for two hundred thousand. 141 00:10:51,693 --> 00:10:55,153 - That privilege is not worth two hundred thousand. 142 00:10:57,574 --> 00:11:00,414 - Then let us settle on one hundred thousand? 143 00:11:00,493 --> 00:11:02,623 I believe that to be a fair and generous offer. 144 00:11:02,704 --> 00:11:05,834 - I'm not really interested in your generosity. 145 00:11:05,915 --> 00:11:08,415 I'm only interested in getting the best deal 146 00:11:08,501 --> 00:11:10,131 for my shareholders. 147 00:11:10,211 --> 00:11:11,631 And that does not include handing 148 00:11:11,713 --> 00:11:15,923 over one hundred thousand dollars, or even one dollar. 149 00:11:16,009 --> 00:11:18,889 - My father wants only what he believes is right. 150 00:11:18,970 --> 00:11:22,430 - The trouble is, your father doesn't know what is right. 151 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:26,140 The old man should be put out to pasture. 152 00:11:41,242 --> 00:11:44,202 - NARRATOR: The message is clear. 153 00:11:44,287 --> 00:11:48,917 The competition no longer sees Vanderbilt as a man to fear. 154 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:50,960 - DONNY DEUTSCH: People are always rooting 155 00:11:51,044 --> 00:11:53,174 for very successful people to fail. 156 00:11:53,671 --> 00:11:56,261 The day people are not taking shots at you means 157 00:11:56,341 --> 00:11:58,131 you're not on top anymore. 158 00:11:59,094 --> 00:12:01,854 - NARRATOR: But where they see weakness, 159 00:12:01,930 --> 00:12:04,010 the Commodore sees an opportunity 160 00:12:04,099 --> 00:12:05,769 to assert his dominance, 161 00:12:07,936 --> 00:12:12,306 and teach William what it means to be a Vanderbilt. 162 00:12:17,529 --> 00:12:20,529 - VANDERBILT: If they want a war, 163 00:12:21,950 --> 00:12:23,910 I'll give them a war. 164 00:12:36,464 --> 00:12:39,514 - NARRATOR: Vanderbilt owns the only rail bridge 165 00:12:39,592 --> 00:12:41,302 into New York City. 166 00:12:41,636 --> 00:12:45,006 It's the gateway to the country's largest port, 167 00:12:45,098 --> 00:12:47,768 supplying the entire continent. 168 00:12:49,144 --> 00:12:52,064 Vanderbilt knows this is the hammer he needs to beat 169 00:12:52,147 --> 00:12:54,357 his rivals into submission. 170 00:12:57,360 --> 00:12:58,440 - Sit down. 171 00:13:03,700 --> 00:13:06,620 I want you to close the Albany Bridge. 172 00:13:18,089 --> 00:13:20,049 - (brakes squealing) 173 00:13:20,133 --> 00:13:22,593 - NARRATOR: Without the bridge, 174 00:13:22,677 --> 00:13:26,007 every other railroad is shut out of New York City. 175 00:13:27,765 --> 00:13:29,925 - J.S. STILES: Vanderbilt, in essence, 176 00:13:30,018 --> 00:13:32,348 single-handedly erected a blockade 177 00:13:32,437 --> 00:13:35,267 around the nation's largest city, cutting it off 178 00:13:35,356 --> 00:13:37,186 from contact with the rest of the country. 179 00:13:37,275 --> 00:13:40,435 He was now asserting his dominance. 180 00:13:40,528 --> 00:13:42,608 - CONDUCTOR: Ladies and gentlemen, 181 00:13:42,697 --> 00:13:45,277 this train will not be going any farther! 182 00:13:48,912 --> 00:13:51,502 - We're gonna watch them bleed. 183 00:13:57,003 --> 00:14:01,763 - NARRATOR: The Civil War has left America in ruins. 184 00:14:03,801 --> 00:14:06,011 For the first time in its history, 185 00:14:06,095 --> 00:14:08,255 the nation must rebuild. 186 00:14:09,849 --> 00:14:12,639 Over fifty-thousand miles of railroad track 187 00:14:12,727 --> 00:14:14,847 have transformed the country. 188 00:14:17,148 --> 00:14:20,398 "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt grew up poor, 189 00:14:20,860 --> 00:14:23,740 but has created a railroad empire, 190 00:14:23,821 --> 00:14:27,411 making him the richest man in the country. 191 00:14:28,493 --> 00:14:33,293 At 72, he's thirty years past the average life expectancy, 192 00:14:33,373 --> 00:14:36,633 and his competitors see him as weak. 193 00:14:37,168 --> 00:14:40,338 It's a mistake they'll come to regret. 194 00:14:41,381 --> 00:14:44,091 Locked in a battle for control of the rail lines 195 00:14:44,175 --> 00:14:46,045 east of the Mississippi, 196 00:14:47,679 --> 00:14:50,679 the Commodore is holding nothing back. 197 00:14:50,765 --> 00:14:53,515 - I want you to close the Albany Bridge. 198 00:14:56,646 --> 00:14:58,646 We're gonna watch them bleed. 199 00:15:03,486 --> 00:15:06,696 - NARRATOR: Vanderbilt controls the only bridge 200 00:15:06,781 --> 00:15:10,281 into New York City, America's busiest port. 201 00:15:12,203 --> 00:15:16,123 Seizing an opportunity, he sets up a blockade. 202 00:15:16,958 --> 00:15:21,298 - (train chugging and hissing) 203 00:15:33,725 --> 00:15:36,385 - This train will not be going any farther! 204 00:15:36,477 --> 00:15:38,097 - (indistinct clamor) 205 00:15:39,397 --> 00:15:41,897 - NARRATOR: Shutting the bridge leaves millions of pounds 206 00:15:41,983 --> 00:15:44,783 of cargo unable to reach the rest of the country, 207 00:15:47,614 --> 00:15:50,954 and slowly bleeds his competitors dry. 208 00:16:10,511 --> 00:16:12,601 Before their stock is worthless, 209 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:14,810 the presidents of the rival railroad 210 00:16:14,891 --> 00:16:17,231 try to sell all their shares. 211 00:16:23,232 --> 00:16:25,902 Word quickly reaches Wall Street, 212 00:16:25,985 --> 00:16:27,855 triggering a massive sell-off. 213 00:16:27,945 --> 00:16:30,405 - (trading floor clamor) 214 00:16:46,506 --> 00:16:49,006 - Come on, put some money in that. Come on. 215 00:16:50,301 --> 00:16:53,891 - New York Central shares are dropping fast. 216 00:16:54,430 --> 00:16:55,430 - How low? 217 00:16:57,350 --> 00:16:58,730 - $20 a share. 218 00:17:02,980 --> 00:17:05,190 - Buy everything you can. 219 00:17:15,243 --> 00:17:18,583 - (trading floor clamor) 220 00:17:28,464 --> 00:17:31,884 - T.J. STILES: Vanderbilt was buying all of that stock 221 00:17:31,968 --> 00:17:34,888 that suddenly flooded the market at rock-bottom prices. 222 00:17:34,971 --> 00:17:37,351 - (trading floor clamor) 223 00:17:37,432 --> 00:17:38,562 - Three aces. 224 00:17:38,641 --> 00:17:40,521 - MAN: Ooh, that's good. 225 00:17:42,478 --> 00:17:45,268 - NARRATOR: In just days, Vanderbilt takes control 226 00:17:45,356 --> 00:17:48,686 of the rival railroad, creating the largest 227 00:17:48,776 --> 00:17:51,486 single rail company in America. 228 00:18:02,165 --> 00:18:04,535 - J.S. STILES: The New York Central railroad 229 00:18:04,625 --> 00:18:06,835 became the centerpiece of his empire, 230 00:18:06,919 --> 00:18:10,379 and it came to him as the sudden result 231 00:18:10,465 --> 00:18:13,505 of a skillfully executed campaign to get revenge. 232 00:18:13,593 --> 00:18:17,933 - NARRATOR: Railroads soon criss-cross America, 233 00:18:18,014 --> 00:18:19,894 tying together the country in a way 234 00:18:19,974 --> 00:18:23,774 that just fifteen years earlier was unimaginable, 235 00:18:24,145 --> 00:18:26,935 and providing over 180,000 jobs. 236 00:18:27,815 --> 00:18:30,565 Laying tracks becomes America's engine 237 00:18:30,651 --> 00:18:32,651 for unprecedented growth. 238 00:18:32,737 --> 00:18:36,737 - H.W. BRANDS: Railroads allowed the industrial economy 239 00:18:36,824 --> 00:18:39,794 to boom in ways that it couldn't have before. 240 00:18:40,495 --> 00:18:43,455 - ALAN GREENSPAN: One advance after the other, 241 00:18:43,539 --> 00:18:47,749 which essentially was led by the railroads, 242 00:18:47,835 --> 00:18:52,205 largely because there was a need to close the gap 243 00:18:52,298 --> 00:18:55,588 between those east of the Mississippi 244 00:18:55,676 --> 00:18:57,796 and those on the West Coast. 245 00:18:59,806 --> 00:19:02,596 - NARRATOR: Vanderbilt has made himself 246 00:19:02,683 --> 00:19:04,983 the undisputed king of railroads. 247 00:19:06,145 --> 00:19:09,475 And now, he wants the world to know it. 248 00:19:10,066 --> 00:19:12,646 He envisions a monument that will symbolize 249 00:19:12,735 --> 00:19:14,395 his immense power. 250 00:19:20,660 --> 00:19:23,200 - Work will begin on building a new station 251 00:19:23,287 --> 00:19:25,457 that will bring together the three railroads: 252 00:19:25,540 --> 00:19:28,750 the Harlem, the Hudson, and the Central. 253 00:19:28,835 --> 00:19:31,035 It shall be in the heart of New York, 254 00:19:31,128 --> 00:19:34,798 and be called the Grand Central Depot. 255 00:19:47,728 --> 00:19:51,018 - NARRATOR: Thousands of workers labor 256 00:19:51,107 --> 00:19:55,527 over the next two years, on the most ambitious 257 00:19:55,611 --> 00:19:59,281 urban construction project America has ever seen. 258 00:20:02,660 --> 00:20:04,830 Grand Central is the biggest building 259 00:20:04,912 --> 00:20:10,462 in all of New York City, and the biggest train station 260 00:20:10,543 --> 00:20:14,883 in the country, covering some twenty-two acres. 261 00:20:23,389 --> 00:20:27,179 - T.J. STILES: This enormous building towered 262 00:20:27,268 --> 00:20:30,398 over every other building in New York at the time. 263 00:20:30,479 --> 00:20:33,689 And it was a physical symbol of the size and power 264 00:20:33,774 --> 00:20:36,114 of Vanderbilt's railroad empire. 265 00:20:36,193 --> 00:20:38,403 Its importance as a physical symbol, 266 00:20:38,487 --> 00:20:40,567 as a physical capital of his empire, 267 00:20:40,656 --> 00:20:42,196 cannot be underestimated. 268 00:20:42,283 --> 00:20:46,243 And it still stamps New York's geography to this day. 269 00:20:50,291 --> 00:20:55,091 - NARRATOR: Vanderbilt may be on top of the world, 270 00:20:56,130 --> 00:20:58,550 but his blind ambition will soon make him 271 00:20:58,633 --> 00:21:01,343 vulnerable to a challenge coming 272 00:21:01,427 --> 00:21:04,387 from the most unlikely pair imaginable. 273 00:21:04,472 --> 00:21:05,722 - (laughing) 274 00:21:05,806 --> 00:21:07,056 - To Vanderbilt's money! 275 00:21:07,141 --> 00:21:09,141 - (laughing) 276 00:21:17,777 --> 00:21:20,737 - NARRATOR: The growth of the railroads thrusts 277 00:21:20,821 --> 00:21:23,411 America into the biggest building expansion 278 00:21:23,491 --> 00:21:28,751 the country has ever seen, led by a new breed of leader. 279 00:21:28,829 --> 00:21:30,539 - STEVE CASE: The story ofAmerica 280 00:21:30,623 --> 00:21:32,373 isn't just the story of the patriots 281 00:21:32,458 --> 00:21:34,168 that helped build the democracy. 282 00:21:34,251 --> 00:21:36,171 The reason the United States is a leading economy 283 00:21:36,253 --> 00:21:38,053 in the world is because of the work 284 00:21:38,130 --> 00:21:40,920 of entrepreneurs who created entire industries 285 00:21:41,008 --> 00:21:43,338 that propelled the United States to be the leader 286 00:21:43,427 --> 00:21:45,007 of the free world. 287 00:21:45,096 --> 00:21:48,716 - NARRATOR: One man, Cornelius Vanderbilt, 288 00:21:49,976 --> 00:21:52,766 through brute force and intimidation, 289 00:21:52,853 --> 00:21:56,403 has made himself the undisputed king of the railroads. 290 00:21:58,359 --> 00:22:02,149 He now owns forty percent ofAmerica's train lines. 291 00:22:06,033 --> 00:22:07,623 But he wants them all. 292 00:22:07,702 --> 00:22:09,832 - DONNY DEUTSCH: To me, it's always "What's next?" 293 00:22:09,912 --> 00:22:12,082 and I think that's what drives most very successful people. 294 00:22:12,164 --> 00:22:13,214 It's never about the money. 295 00:22:13,290 --> 00:22:14,920 I mean, that's a way of keeping score. 296 00:22:15,001 --> 00:22:17,291 It's about achievement, and it's about winning a game, 297 00:22:17,378 --> 00:22:19,168 and it's about upping the ante. 298 00:22:21,424 --> 00:22:25,054 - NARRATOR: Chicago is America's fastest growing city. 299 00:22:25,386 --> 00:22:27,256 The line connecting it to New York 300 00:22:27,346 --> 00:22:30,306 is the most traveled and valuable in all the world. 301 00:22:32,059 --> 00:22:34,229 And it's not Vanderbilt's. 302 00:22:36,439 --> 00:22:38,569 To make his empire complete, 303 00:22:38,649 --> 00:22:41,819 he must gain control of the Erie Line. 304 00:22:46,657 --> 00:22:49,827 - The Erie was one of the relatively early publicly 305 00:22:49,910 --> 00:22:51,200 traded corporations. 306 00:22:51,954 --> 00:22:53,714 Vanderbilt had the advantage 307 00:22:53,789 --> 00:22:56,329 of millions and millions of dollars. 308 00:22:56,417 --> 00:22:58,877 Deep pockets are always an advantage 309 00:22:58,961 --> 00:23:01,961 when you're trying to gain control of a corporation. 310 00:23:06,260 --> 00:23:09,300 - (trading floor clamor) 311 00:23:09,388 --> 00:23:13,388 - NARRATOR: Vanderbilt instructs his agents 312 00:23:13,476 --> 00:23:16,386 to buy up as much stock as possible... 313 00:23:16,479 --> 00:23:18,649 - Buying Erie! Buying Erie! 314 00:23:18,731 --> 00:23:21,231 - NARRATOR: ... demanding control of the company 315 00:23:21,317 --> 00:23:22,527 by the end of the week. 316 00:23:22,610 --> 00:23:24,190 - Erie at forty-five! 317 00:23:24,278 --> 00:23:26,818 - NARRATOR: It's a vintage Vanderbilt move-- 318 00:23:26,906 --> 00:23:31,656 one he pioneered--known today as a "hostile takeover". 319 00:23:32,620 --> 00:23:33,910 - Erie, fifty! 320 00:23:38,459 --> 00:23:41,539 - NARRATOR: But his attempt will be thwarted 321 00:23:41,629 --> 00:23:47,009 by an even more ingenious idea cooked up by two unknowns: 322 00:23:48,260 --> 00:23:50,300 Jay Gould and Jim Fisk. 323 00:23:50,387 --> 00:23:52,057 - JIM FISK: All right. 324 00:23:52,139 --> 00:23:54,179 - The mistake that the Erie Board have made is 325 00:23:54,266 --> 00:23:56,346 that they have telegraphed where they need to expand 326 00:23:56,435 --> 00:23:57,805 without securing the land first. 327 00:23:57,895 --> 00:23:59,475 - NARRATOR: Gould and Fisk are stuck 328 00:23:59,563 --> 00:24:01,863 in middle-management at the Erie. 329 00:24:01,941 --> 00:24:04,651 But they represent the new America that Vanderbilt 330 00:24:04,735 --> 00:24:06,275 is helping to create. 331 00:24:06,654 --> 00:24:09,994 One of self-made men with ruthless ambition. 332 00:24:11,575 --> 00:24:13,985 And after years of watching the Commodore 333 00:24:14,078 --> 00:24:18,368 dominate, they're eager to build their own empire. 334 00:24:18,874 --> 00:24:21,004 They recognize Vanderbilt's plan 335 00:24:21,085 --> 00:24:24,665 to buy the line, and see the opportunity 336 00:24:25,005 --> 00:24:26,705 they've been waiting for. 337 00:24:26,799 --> 00:24:28,509 - TED TURNER: Competition, I think, 338 00:24:28,592 --> 00:24:31,222 it's good for the system, and it's really, I think, 339 00:24:31,303 --> 00:24:33,103 what most businesses is about, 340 00:24:33,180 --> 00:24:36,770 is doing a better job, and out-hustling your competitors. 341 00:24:44,316 --> 00:24:48,276 - NARRATOR: Gould and Fisk begin printing 342 00:24:48,362 --> 00:24:50,162 new shares of stock, 343 00:24:52,700 --> 00:24:54,080 using a printing press 344 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:57,160 they set up in the basement of the Erie offices. 345 00:24:58,539 --> 00:25:01,749 Each share they print dilutes Vanderbilt's stake 346 00:25:01,834 --> 00:25:06,134 in the company, and they print over one hundred thousand. 347 00:25:06,213 --> 00:25:09,973 - H.W. BRANDS: There was some fine print in one of the clauses 348 00:25:10,050 --> 00:25:11,720 of the Erie's charter that allowed 349 00:25:11,802 --> 00:25:14,642 the board of directors to issue new stock, 350 00:25:14,930 --> 00:25:17,180 unbeknownst to the shareholders. 351 00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:18,730 - Go. 352 00:25:20,144 --> 00:25:22,484 - H.W. BRANDS: And so, the more shares that Vanderbilt 353 00:25:22,563 --> 00:25:27,153 bought, the more he had to buy in order to approach 354 00:25:27,234 --> 00:25:28,654 that magic majority. 355 00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:35,450 - NARRATOR: Their plan is known as "watering down stock". 356 00:25:35,534 --> 00:25:38,084 Highly illegal today, at the time, 357 00:25:38,162 --> 00:25:40,622 it had never been imagined. 358 00:25:40,706 --> 00:25:42,786 Its simplicity is brilliant. 359 00:25:45,294 --> 00:25:47,884 And Wall Street is never the same. 360 00:25:48,797 --> 00:25:51,047 - MARK CUBAN: The only rule was there were no rules. 361 00:25:51,133 --> 00:25:54,013 Whatever it took to put your competition 362 00:25:54,094 --> 00:25:56,554 out of business, they were gonna try to do it. 363 00:25:58,641 --> 00:26:03,061 - NARRATOR: Unaware, Vanderbilt continues to buy. 364 00:26:04,605 --> 00:26:06,855 - Think of the look on his face. 365 00:26:06,941 --> 00:26:08,361 - (laughing) 366 00:26:08,442 --> 00:26:11,282 - Oh, God, I wish I could be a fly on that wall. 367 00:26:11,362 --> 00:26:12,572 - (laughing) 368 00:26:28,837 --> 00:26:32,217 - NARRATOR: The freshly printed shares 369 00:26:32,299 --> 00:26:35,129 are hand-delivered to Vanderbilt. 370 00:26:42,518 --> 00:26:44,808 - Here are the Erie shares. 371 00:26:46,689 --> 00:26:48,899 I assume we control the company now. 372 00:27:21,682 --> 00:27:23,392 - A toast! - A toast. 373 00:27:23,475 --> 00:27:24,475 - To money! 374 00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:25,640 - (laughing) 375 00:27:25,728 --> 00:27:27,228 - To Vanderbilt's money! 376 00:27:27,313 --> 00:27:28,813 - (laughing) 377 00:27:29,648 --> 00:27:32,278 - NARRATOR: Vanderbilt has bought seven million dollars 378 00:27:32,359 --> 00:27:35,489 of watered-down stock from Gould and Fisk. 379 00:27:37,364 --> 00:27:40,414 Today, worth over one billion dollars. 380 00:27:46,540 --> 00:27:48,000 - (laughing) 381 00:27:53,839 --> 00:27:54,879 - (shouts) 382 00:28:06,018 --> 00:28:09,018 Vanderbilt has been underestimated before, 383 00:28:12,066 --> 00:28:14,276 but if you come at the king, 384 00:28:14,360 --> 00:28:16,740 you shouldn't expect to win. 385 00:28:24,661 --> 00:28:26,581 The greatest growth explosion 386 00:28:26,663 --> 00:28:29,293 in America's short life is underway. 387 00:28:30,250 --> 00:28:34,000 Rail lines now connect huge expanses of the country. 388 00:28:35,047 --> 00:28:37,547 Controlling them means having power 389 00:28:37,633 --> 00:28:41,513 that just five years earlier was unimaginable. 390 00:28:42,221 --> 00:28:44,721 Many are staking their claim. 391 00:28:47,017 --> 00:28:49,687 - RON PERELMAN: I think there are people 392 00:28:49,770 --> 00:28:54,070 in every generation that have a vision that, um, 393 00:28:54,775 --> 00:28:57,235 transcends their moment and their time. 394 00:28:58,862 --> 00:29:01,282 - NARRATOR: "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt owns 395 00:29:01,365 --> 00:29:04,275 more miles of rail than anyone in the world. 396 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:09,750 But like all men of power, he faces constant challenges. 397 00:29:11,458 --> 00:29:12,578 - (shouts) 398 00:29:13,210 --> 00:29:16,710 - DONALD TRUMP: Competition gets very aggressive. 399 00:29:16,797 --> 00:29:19,047 People have no idea how aggressive it is. 400 00:29:19,133 --> 00:29:20,723 And sometimes, you don't even hear it, 401 00:29:20,801 --> 00:29:22,391 because what goes on behind your back 402 00:29:22,469 --> 00:29:25,179 is not a pretty picture. - (laughing) 403 00:29:25,264 --> 00:29:26,894 - NARRATOR: At the height of his power, 404 00:29:26,974 --> 00:29:30,144 Vanderbilt is outsmarted by a pair of unknowns. 405 00:29:30,227 --> 00:29:31,687 - To Vanderbilt's money! 406 00:29:31,770 --> 00:29:33,060 - (laughing) 407 00:29:33,147 --> 00:29:36,227 - NARRATOR: Jay Gould and Jim Fisk have fleeced 408 00:29:36,316 --> 00:29:38,436 the Commodore out of millions. 409 00:29:40,571 --> 00:29:43,071 And they want the world to know it. 410 00:29:43,615 --> 00:29:45,985 - Thank you, don't mind if I do. 411 00:29:48,954 --> 00:29:52,084 Now, it is no secret what Vanderbilt 412 00:29:52,166 --> 00:29:53,496 has been trying to do. 413 00:29:53,584 --> 00:29:56,594 He owns more railroads than anybody else. 414 00:29:56,879 --> 00:30:00,549 But Gould and me, we have struck a blow 415 00:30:00,632 --> 00:30:02,342 for the little guy. 416 00:30:02,801 --> 00:30:05,341 Now, sure, he may be rich, and sure, 417 00:30:05,429 --> 00:30:09,679 he may be powerful, but somebody had to stand up 418 00:30:09,766 --> 00:30:10,926 to the old bastard. 419 00:30:11,018 --> 00:30:12,268 - (laughing) 420 00:30:13,520 --> 00:30:16,230 - T.J. STILES: It was a humiliating defeat 421 00:30:16,315 --> 00:30:19,935 for the Commodore, a man who was so fiercely competitive, 422 00:30:20,027 --> 00:30:22,817 who wanted to win at absolutely everything, 423 00:30:23,197 --> 00:30:25,657 to whom money was so important, 424 00:30:25,741 --> 00:30:29,451 and here he was, defeated, and insulted publicly, 425 00:30:29,536 --> 00:30:30,996 by Gould and Fisk. 426 00:30:37,252 --> 00:30:42,012 - NARRATOR: Gould and Fisk may be on top of the world, 427 00:30:42,090 --> 00:30:45,430 but they've awakened a sleeping lion. 428 00:30:50,224 --> 00:30:53,234 Vanderbilt vows to never be beaten again. 429 00:30:53,310 --> 00:30:56,980 - SUMNER REDSTONE: They don't think in terms of money. 430 00:30:57,064 --> 00:30:59,774 They think in terms of winning. 431 00:30:59,858 --> 00:31:02,238 Now, naturally, if you win big in business, 432 00:31:02,319 --> 00:31:05,739 money follows, but that shouldn't be your objective. 433 00:31:05,822 --> 00:31:08,202 Your objective should be to win. 434 00:31:09,117 --> 00:31:13,497 Win, win, win. All the time. Not sometimes. Every time. 435 00:31:13,580 --> 00:31:17,250 - NARRATOR: Vanderbilt immediately begins 436 00:31:17,334 --> 00:31:19,094 looking for a new edge. 437 00:31:21,421 --> 00:31:25,051 He realizes that the railroads have been overbuilt, 438 00:31:25,133 --> 00:31:27,843 and the future of the industry isn't in building 439 00:31:27,928 --> 00:31:31,308 new lines, but in transporting new cargo. 440 00:31:35,269 --> 00:31:40,019 - JACK WELCH: Innovation is not a big breakthrough 441 00:31:40,107 --> 00:31:41,477 invention every time. 442 00:31:41,567 --> 00:31:44,277 Innovation is a constant thing. 443 00:31:44,361 --> 00:31:46,821 And if you don't have an innovate company 444 00:31:46,905 --> 00:31:50,775 coming to work everyday to find a better way, 445 00:31:50,867 --> 00:31:52,657 you don't have a company. 446 00:31:53,662 --> 00:31:55,962 You're getting ready to die on the vine. 447 00:31:58,625 --> 00:32:00,745 - NARRATOR: If Vanderbilt can corner the market 448 00:32:00,836 --> 00:32:04,206 on a new source of freight, one that can keep his trains 449 00:32:04,298 --> 00:32:07,218 constantly full, he'll be able to control 450 00:32:07,301 --> 00:32:08,971 the railroad industry. 451 00:32:10,470 --> 00:32:13,220 And the Commodore knows just where to look. 452 00:32:32,409 --> 00:32:35,949 Oil is revolutionizing life in America. 453 00:32:38,332 --> 00:32:41,832 Crude from the ground is being refined into kerosene, 454 00:32:46,673 --> 00:32:49,473 a safe and inexpensive source of light, 455 00:32:51,094 --> 00:32:53,934 and that access to light is completely 456 00:32:54,014 --> 00:32:56,314 changing the way Americans live. 457 00:32:57,392 --> 00:32:59,642 Before kerosene, the average American 458 00:32:59,728 --> 00:33:02,688 didn't have access to a consistent light source. 459 00:33:04,566 --> 00:33:07,986 When the sun came down, darkness ruled. 460 00:33:13,367 --> 00:33:17,037 Kerosene is a phenomenon that will forever change the world. 461 00:33:18,121 --> 00:33:22,291 And Vanderbilt knows it's his next opportunity to cash in. 462 00:33:22,376 --> 00:33:25,496 - RUSSELL SIMMONS: The idea is to see what's missing. 463 00:33:25,587 --> 00:33:27,507 That's what a creative entrepreneur does, 464 00:33:27,589 --> 00:33:29,879 he serves people things that they need. 465 00:33:31,259 --> 00:33:33,719 Some people can't find a new thing to do. 466 00:33:34,429 --> 00:33:36,179 But sometimes you see something 467 00:33:36,264 --> 00:33:38,474 that everybody has to have. 468 00:33:38,558 --> 00:33:40,268 Oh men, I've got to give them this 469 00:33:40,644 --> 00:33:42,314 And then you go to work on it. 470 00:33:42,396 --> 00:33:43,516 Because they need it. 471 00:33:43,605 --> 00:33:45,815 - NARRATOR: Vanderbilt sees the demand for 472 00:33:45,899 --> 00:33:48,779 kerosene skyrocketing all across the country. 473 00:33:50,696 --> 00:33:52,696 He knows that to meet the demand, 474 00:33:52,781 --> 00:33:54,371 the makers of kerosene will need 475 00:33:54,449 --> 00:33:56,739 a new way to ship their oil. 476 00:33:59,788 --> 00:34:03,828 If Vanderbilt can corner the market on those oil shipments, 477 00:34:03,917 --> 00:34:06,287 he'll propel himself back to the top 478 00:34:06,378 --> 00:34:08,378 of the railroad industry. 479 00:34:09,548 --> 00:34:12,878 All he needs to do now is find a supplier. 480 00:34:20,600 --> 00:34:23,480 - We're gonna extend along the south shore to Cleveland. 481 00:34:24,855 --> 00:34:26,555 - WILLIAM: Why Cleveland? 482 00:34:26,857 --> 00:34:29,607 - NARRATOR: Cleveland is a small city 483 00:34:29,693 --> 00:34:32,073 ofjust under fifty thousand, 484 00:34:32,154 --> 00:34:35,824 but it's sitting on top of an ocean of oil. 485 00:34:36,783 --> 00:34:40,243 Eastern Ohio is the Middle East of its day, 486 00:34:41,079 --> 00:34:43,079 and the area around Cleveland 487 00:34:43,165 --> 00:34:46,035 is one of the largest oil fields in the world. 488 00:34:46,752 --> 00:34:49,172 Vanderbilt learns about a refinery 489 00:34:49,254 --> 00:34:51,634 built near the railroads in Cleveland. 490 00:34:52,132 --> 00:34:55,092 The perfect mark for his master plan. 491 00:34:56,511 --> 00:34:58,721 He reaches out to the owner, 492 00:34:59,014 --> 00:35:01,394 a struggling young oil man Vanderbilt 493 00:35:01,475 --> 00:35:03,845 is hoping to pluck from obscurity. 494 00:35:06,730 --> 00:35:09,940 That oil man is John D. Rockefeller. 495 00:35:17,491 --> 00:35:19,701 - Why are we playing so much in plumbers? 496 00:35:19,785 --> 00:35:21,075 - We run a refinery. 497 00:35:22,412 --> 00:35:24,662 - So, we start making our own pipes. 498 00:35:29,586 --> 00:35:33,006 At this rate, we'll be lucky if we break even this year. 499 00:35:34,007 --> 00:35:36,507 - If you wanna call it a day, John, just say. 500 00:35:36,593 --> 00:35:38,183 - (baby crying) 501 00:35:46,311 --> 00:35:47,601 - I should go. 502 00:35:50,106 --> 00:35:52,686 - ELIZA: Is everything all right? 503 00:35:53,193 --> 00:35:54,323 - It's fine. 504 00:35:58,532 --> 00:36:00,832 - NARRATOR: At the age of twenty-seven, 505 00:36:00,909 --> 00:36:03,329 Rockefeller is in the early stages of building 506 00:36:03,411 --> 00:36:07,291 his refining business, but his company is teetering 507 00:36:07,374 --> 00:36:09,174 on the verge of bankruptcy. 508 00:36:10,377 --> 00:36:13,247 Vanderbilt sees him as someone he can manipulate 509 00:36:13,338 --> 00:36:14,708 to his advantage. 510 00:36:16,883 --> 00:36:20,013 An exclusive deal to ship Rockefeller's oil 511 00:36:20,554 --> 00:36:23,144 will guarantee that the Commodore's trains 512 00:36:23,223 --> 00:36:24,973 stay filled with cargo. 513 00:36:25,058 --> 00:36:26,978 Vanderbilt invites Rockefeller 514 00:36:27,060 --> 00:36:29,020 to meet with him in New York. 515 00:36:35,485 --> 00:36:37,855 For the young oil man, the meeting 516 00:36:37,946 --> 00:36:40,316 is the opportunity of a lifetime. 517 00:36:41,449 --> 00:36:43,239 A way out of his troubles, 518 00:36:45,078 --> 00:36:49,328 and a way to save his company from complete collapse. 519 00:36:50,208 --> 00:36:52,958 - T.J. STILES: Rockefeller, he respected Vanderbilt. 520 00:36:53,044 --> 00:36:54,804 He could see what he had achieved. 521 00:36:54,880 --> 00:36:58,340 Vanderbilt was setting the pattern and the archetype 522 00:36:58,425 --> 00:37:01,085 of what Rockefeller himself wanted to be. 523 00:37:01,177 --> 00:37:04,387 He wanted to be the Vanderbilt of petroleum. 524 00:37:04,472 --> 00:37:06,852 That's the way he saw himself. 525 00:37:06,933 --> 00:37:10,353 - NARRATOR: As Rockefeller prepares 526 00:37:10,437 --> 00:37:12,687 for his trip to New York, 527 00:37:12,772 --> 00:37:15,822 Vanderbilt's plan is set in motion. 528 00:37:48,892 --> 00:37:50,482 - How long is this going to take? 529 00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:51,810 - Five to ten minutes. 530 00:38:02,364 --> 00:38:06,994 - NARRATOR: The train departs Cleveland at 6:25 AM. 531 00:38:13,124 --> 00:38:14,834 - (train whistles) 532 00:38:40,735 --> 00:38:42,485 America is rising. 533 00:38:43,279 --> 00:38:46,279 The country is experiencing a period of growth 534 00:38:46,366 --> 00:38:48,366 like none it's ever seen. 535 00:38:48,952 --> 00:38:51,542 Railroads have united the states, 536 00:38:51,913 --> 00:38:56,383 and commerce flows with a speed never before thought possible. 537 00:38:57,252 --> 00:39:00,462 The man at the forefront of this explosive change 538 00:39:00,547 --> 00:39:03,717 is Cornelius Vanderbilt, but at 76, 539 00:39:04,050 --> 00:39:07,140 he realizes that the railroads have been overbuilt. 540 00:39:09,305 --> 00:39:11,305 To stay ahead of the competition, 541 00:39:11,391 --> 00:39:14,481 the Commodore turns to a new exploding industry, 542 00:39:15,103 --> 00:39:19,523 and a struggling young oil man, John D. Rockefeller. 543 00:39:21,067 --> 00:39:24,607 Vanderbilt invites him to New York City for a meeting. 544 00:40:15,121 --> 00:40:16,581 Fate intervenes. 545 00:40:18,374 --> 00:40:21,094 - ROCKFELLER: The Lord is my shepherd. 546 00:40:22,712 --> 00:40:24,302 I shall not want. 547 00:40:27,634 --> 00:40:30,594 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. 548 00:40:33,056 --> 00:40:34,846 He restoreth my soul. 549 00:40:37,602 --> 00:40:41,192 - NARRATOR: John Rockefeller narrowly missed the train, 550 00:40:41,272 --> 00:40:42,902 one that would've carried him 551 00:40:42,982 --> 00:40:44,732 to his certain death. 552 00:40:45,485 --> 00:40:48,145 The close call has a profound impact 553 00:40:48,238 --> 00:40:49,908 on the young oil man. 554 00:40:51,116 --> 00:40:53,236 - He leadeth me into paths of righteousness 555 00:40:53,326 --> 00:40:54,656 for His name's sake. 556 00:40:56,538 --> 00:40:57,498 Amen. 557 00:40:59,124 --> 00:41:01,384 - NARRATOR: A man of deep faith, 558 00:41:01,459 --> 00:41:05,169 he becomes convinced that God has spared him for a reason. 559 00:41:05,255 --> 00:41:08,045 - H.W. BRANDS: Without thinking that he himself 560 00:41:08,133 --> 00:41:10,053 in particular was chosen by God to become 561 00:41:10,135 --> 00:41:12,965 this great business success, Rockefeller believed 562 00:41:13,054 --> 00:41:15,394 that everything was divinely ordained, 563 00:41:15,473 --> 00:41:19,103 so nothing happened in the world without God's will, 564 00:41:19,185 --> 00:41:20,685 without God's blessing. 565 00:41:20,770 --> 00:41:23,190 - NARRATOR: Rockefeller once again heads 566 00:41:23,273 --> 00:41:25,983 to meet with Vanderbilt as a changed man. 567 00:41:27,527 --> 00:41:29,397 Where before he was intimidated, 568 00:41:29,487 --> 00:41:33,407 and facing bankruptcy, now he's a man of destiny. 569 00:41:41,916 --> 00:41:44,286 Cornelius Vanderbilt may be the richest 570 00:41:44,377 --> 00:41:46,667 and most powerful man in the country, 571 00:41:47,672 --> 00:41:50,262 accustomed to getting what he wants, 572 00:41:52,594 --> 00:41:56,764 but he has no idea what he's about to encounter. 573 00:42:43,770 --> 00:42:47,400 - Every business is about understanding people. 574 00:42:47,482 --> 00:42:49,572 Which people you have to get through, 575 00:42:49,651 --> 00:42:51,861 which people you have to embrace, 576 00:42:51,945 --> 00:42:53,855 which people you have to jump over, 577 00:42:53,947 --> 00:42:56,527 which people you have to push out of the way. 578 00:42:56,616 --> 00:42:57,906 That's the game. 579 00:43:00,912 --> 00:43:03,122 - NARRATOR: Cornelius Vanderbilt may be the richest 580 00:43:03,206 --> 00:43:05,576 and most powerful man in the country, 581 00:43:06,334 --> 00:43:08,634 accustomed to getting what he wants, 582 00:43:11,506 --> 00:43:15,586 but he has no idea what he's about to encounter. 583 00:44:01,806 --> 00:44:04,766 - (Blues Saraceno playing "Save My Soul") 584 00:44:15,445 --> 00:44:17,775 ♪ When I got to Memphis ♪ 585 00:44:18,781 --> 00:44:20,701 ♪ To put my ol' baby down ♪ 586 00:44:21,617 --> 00:44:25,197 ♪ He said, "I can't take you to Heaven" ♪ 587 00:44:26,497 --> 00:44:28,497 ♪ "I can't save your soul" ♪ 588 00:44:29,876 --> 00:44:32,086 ♪ "I can't promise forever" ♪ 589 00:44:32,628 --> 00:44:36,548 ♪ Whoa, yeah, got my heart in your hands ♪ 590 00:44:38,468 --> 00:44:40,138 ♪ I can't feel ♪ 591 00:44:41,596 --> 00:44:43,176 ♪ Feel my soul ♪ 592 00:44:47,060 --> 00:44:49,390 - Do you play cards, Mr. Rockefeller? 593 00:44:50,313 --> 00:44:51,233 - No. 594 00:44:51,981 --> 00:44:53,231 - VANDERBILT: Shame. 595 00:44:54,776 --> 00:44:57,066 You could learn a lot about competition. 596 00:44:58,237 --> 00:44:59,907 - I know all I need to know. 597 00:45:04,368 --> 00:45:08,158 - So. I'm looking to do a deal with an oil refinery. 598 00:45:10,208 --> 00:45:11,998 And that could be you. 599 00:45:13,628 --> 00:45:15,498 - I'm willing to do an exclusive deal. 600 00:45:17,215 --> 00:45:18,795 A dollar sixty-five a barrel. 601 00:45:20,093 --> 00:45:22,513 - That's a discount of more than a third. 602 00:45:23,304 --> 00:45:25,564 There are several refineries in Cleveland. 603 00:45:26,307 --> 00:45:28,307 Why should I give you such a deal? 604 00:45:32,271 --> 00:45:35,321 - Because I'll fill all your trains with my oil. 605 00:45:38,152 --> 00:45:39,782 And if you don't do the deal, 606 00:45:40,655 --> 00:45:42,445 I'll fill someone else's trains. 607 00:45:51,916 --> 00:45:53,206 - Mr. Rockefeller. 608 00:46:01,342 --> 00:46:02,632 - Do you trust him? 609 00:46:03,886 --> 00:46:05,046 - I don't know. 610 00:46:08,724 --> 00:46:10,524 - NARRATOR: Rockefeller may have gotten the rate 611 00:46:10,601 --> 00:46:13,481 he was looking for, but in return, 612 00:46:13,813 --> 00:46:15,693 he's agreed to provide Vanderbilt 613 00:46:15,773 --> 00:46:18,903 with over sixty train cars of oil every day. 614 00:46:21,445 --> 00:46:23,695 The only problem is, Rockefeller has 615 00:46:23,781 --> 00:46:25,991 no way to produce that much kerosene. 616 00:46:26,951 --> 00:46:29,831 His capacity is less than half of that. 617 00:46:32,832 --> 00:46:34,792 Rockefeller has over-promised, 618 00:46:35,668 --> 00:46:37,458 but he knows the deal with Vanderbilt 619 00:46:37,545 --> 00:46:40,205 will be the opportunity he's been waiting for. 620 00:46:41,257 --> 00:46:44,377 He just needs to find a way to produce more kerosene. 621 00:46:48,055 --> 00:46:51,805 It's a daunting task, but John D. Rockefeller 622 00:46:51,893 --> 00:46:54,733 has been beating the odds his entire life. 623 00:47:10,369 --> 00:47:13,619 Rockefeller is raised in a poor Cleveland household, 624 00:47:15,249 --> 00:47:18,499 but even as a young man, he yearns for something more, 625 00:47:19,337 --> 00:47:21,837 something bigger, and he knows 626 00:47:21,923 --> 00:47:24,013 it isn't going to be handed to him. 627 00:47:30,181 --> 00:47:33,931 As a young man, he shows a strong entrepreneurial streak, 628 00:47:34,018 --> 00:47:36,478 starting his own small business 629 00:47:37,063 --> 00:47:39,153 selling candy to local children. 630 00:47:41,067 --> 00:47:42,437 - Thank you very much. 631 00:47:42,526 --> 00:47:43,816 Here's three pieces. 632 00:47:45,738 --> 00:47:49,068 - NARRATOR: From an early age, Rockefeller helps to support 633 00:47:49,158 --> 00:47:53,448 his family, mostly because he was never able 634 00:47:53,537 --> 00:47:55,077 to rely on his father. 635 00:47:57,250 --> 00:47:58,920 - BILL: It cures cancer. 636 00:47:59,001 --> 00:48:01,251 Folks, that is right, it cures cancer. 637 00:48:01,337 --> 00:48:03,207 Now you're asking yourself - Sir, 638 00:48:03,297 --> 00:48:06,627 I bet in your mind you're saying, "Bill, is this true?" 639 00:48:06,717 --> 00:48:09,547 - NARRATOR: John Rockefeller's father is a conman. 640 00:48:09,637 --> 00:48:11,297 - ...Rebecca, I met seven years ago. 641 00:48:11,389 --> 00:48:12,849 She had pneumonia. 642 00:48:13,349 --> 00:48:16,729 - NARRATOR: Better known around Cleveland as "Devil Bill". 643 00:48:16,811 --> 00:48:17,641 - Who would like to buy some? 644 00:48:17,728 --> 00:48:19,808 A dollar twenty-five a bottle. Yes, sir. 645 00:48:19,897 --> 00:48:21,977 - NARRATOR: He disappears for months at a time, 646 00:48:22,066 --> 00:48:25,236 leaving his family without money to support themselves. 647 00:48:25,319 --> 00:48:26,819 - I'm only here for one day. 648 00:48:26,904 --> 00:48:28,414 Once I'm gone, I am gone. 649 00:48:28,489 --> 00:48:29,819 I may not be back. 650 00:48:56,934 --> 00:48:58,894 Never trust anybody, son. 651 00:49:00,771 --> 00:49:01,811 Not even me. 652 00:49:17,163 --> 00:49:19,753 - NARRATOR: With his father gone, Rockefeller is forced 653 00:49:19,832 --> 00:49:23,752 to quit school and get a job to support his mother and siblings. 654 00:49:24,378 --> 00:49:27,088 His work ethic and intuition will become 655 00:49:27,173 --> 00:49:29,883 the building blocks for the American dream. 656 00:49:29,967 --> 00:49:31,377 - JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV: My great-grandfather, 657 00:49:31,469 --> 00:49:34,549 John D. Rockefeller, was an absolutely 658 00:49:34,638 --> 00:49:37,018 brilliant businessman when he started out. 659 00:49:37,099 --> 00:49:38,389 He wasn't even in oil or anything. 660 00:49:38,476 --> 00:49:40,766 You know, he worked at it very very hard, 661 00:49:40,853 --> 00:49:44,403 and there's an ethic in the Rockefeller family of hard work. 662 00:49:45,900 --> 00:49:47,820 - NARRATOR: Stuck in a dead-end job, 663 00:49:47,902 --> 00:49:50,702 he becomes fixated on finding a big idea, 664 00:49:50,780 --> 00:49:52,280 and taking a chance. 665 00:50:00,414 --> 00:50:02,464 - PASTOR: Be therefore perfect, 666 00:50:03,834 --> 00:50:07,554 even as your father, which is in Heaven, is perfect. 667 00:50:20,017 --> 00:50:21,477 Would you please rise? 668 00:50:23,145 --> 00:50:24,845 Let us sing Hymn 89. 669 00:50:28,025 --> 00:50:30,025 - CONGREGATION: ♪ Joyful, joyful ♪ 670 00:50:30,111 --> 00:50:31,991 ♪ We adore Thee ♪ 671 00:50:32,071 --> 00:50:34,031 ♪ God of glory ♪ 672 00:50:34,115 --> 00:50:35,695 ♪ Lord above ♪ 673 00:50:44,500 --> 00:50:45,830 - (rumbling) 674 00:50:46,293 --> 00:50:47,463 (thud) 675 00:50:51,799 --> 00:50:53,379 (rumbling grows) 676 00:50:54,093 --> 00:50:56,763 - MAN: Get out! It's gonna blow, get out! 677 00:50:57,221 --> 00:51:02,181 - (rumbling grows louder) 678 00:51:02,268 --> 00:51:03,308 - CONGREGATION: 679 00:51:03,394 --> 00:51:07,274 ♪ Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee ♪ 680 00:51:07,356 --> 00:51:12,066 - (rumbling continues) - ♪ Opening to the sun above ♪ 681 00:51:12,153 --> 00:51:15,323 ♪ Melt the clouds of sin and sadness... ♪ 682 00:51:15,406 --> 00:51:16,316 - (thud) 683 00:51:20,744 --> 00:51:24,914 - ♪ Drive the dark of doubt away ♪ 684 00:51:24,999 --> 00:51:29,379 ♪ Giver of immortal gladness ♪ 685 00:51:29,462 --> 00:51:30,962 - (rumbling) 686 00:51:31,046 --> 00:51:33,916 - ♪ Fill us with the light of day ♪ 687 00:51:34,008 --> 00:51:39,928 - (rumbling continues) 688 00:51:40,014 --> 00:51:41,894 (well explodes) 689 00:51:43,434 --> 00:51:45,944 - (men cheering) 690 00:52:29,188 --> 00:52:32,018 - I think entrepreneurs, and certain business people, 691 00:52:32,107 --> 00:52:33,857 just look at life, and look at things 692 00:52:33,943 --> 00:52:37,283 that are changing, and are able to see those things 693 00:52:37,363 --> 00:52:39,863 and say, "I can create a business out of that." 694 00:52:53,295 --> 00:52:56,665 - NARRATOR: Rockefeller realizes oil has the potential 695 00:52:56,757 --> 00:52:58,257 to change the world. 696 00:53:00,094 --> 00:53:02,724 And, make him rich in the process. 697 00:53:07,726 --> 00:53:10,346 But Rockefeller knows that drilling for oil 698 00:53:10,437 --> 00:53:13,227 is a gamble filled with uncertainty. 699 00:53:14,483 --> 00:53:16,863 And since he doesn't believe in luck, 700 00:53:16,944 --> 00:53:19,744 he starts looking for a way to make money from oil 701 00:53:19,822 --> 00:53:21,072 without the risk. 702 00:53:21,615 --> 00:53:24,235 - H.W. BRAND: He had a mind for efficiency. 703 00:53:24,326 --> 00:53:26,576 And there was probably something in him 704 00:53:26,662 --> 00:53:28,872 that looked at the production process and saw 705 00:53:28,956 --> 00:53:30,576 how wasteful that was. 706 00:53:30,666 --> 00:53:31,576 In the first place you drill wells, 707 00:53:31,667 --> 00:53:32,667 and they turn up dry. 708 00:53:32,751 --> 00:53:34,501 And then you drill wells and they hit a gusher, 709 00:53:34,587 --> 00:53:36,587 and half the oil would be lost. 710 00:53:36,672 --> 00:53:40,132 And that offended his sense of efficiency. 711 00:53:41,802 --> 00:53:45,142 - NARRATOR: Rockefeller knows there's a better way. 712 00:53:46,015 --> 00:53:48,345 - Today, everybody wants to be an entrepreneur. 713 00:53:48,434 --> 00:53:51,354 They've heard these great stories, you know, about Apple. 714 00:53:51,437 --> 00:53:53,187 But, you know what, when you start a company, 715 00:53:53,272 --> 00:53:54,652 you can think what the revenues are gonna be, 716 00:53:54,732 --> 00:53:56,652 how much it's gonna be worth to shareholders, 717 00:53:56,734 --> 00:53:59,194 but you always need a technical element. 718 00:53:59,278 --> 00:54:01,608 You need somebody who knows how to do it 719 00:54:01,697 --> 00:54:04,777 and build the things. You need the scientists. 720 00:54:06,994 --> 00:54:10,164 - NARRATOR: Refining oil turns crude from the ground 721 00:54:10,247 --> 00:54:15,997 into kerosene, a clean-burning fuel that can be used in lamps. 722 00:54:19,173 --> 00:54:21,593 - Once the oil gets to three-hundred and fifty degrees, 723 00:54:21,675 --> 00:54:23,965 the kerosene starts to vaporize. 724 00:54:24,053 --> 00:54:28,813 Then once it's cooled, you have a stable, pure product. 725 00:54:32,394 --> 00:54:34,444 - How much to produce a gallon? 726 00:54:34,855 --> 00:54:36,855 - Fifty, sixty cents. I don't know. 727 00:54:38,275 --> 00:54:40,185 - NARRATOR: Rockefeller's insight puts him 728 00:54:40,277 --> 00:54:42,567 one step ahead of his competitors. 729 00:54:42,655 --> 00:54:45,865 He believes that while gamblers drill for oil, 730 00:54:45,949 --> 00:54:47,989 businessmen refine it. 731 00:54:48,494 --> 00:54:51,914 - Whoever could control the refining process 732 00:54:51,997 --> 00:54:55,497 could very well have the whole industry. 733 00:55:01,840 --> 00:55:03,380 - NARRATOR: At twenty-four years old, 734 00:55:03,467 --> 00:55:05,587 Rockefeller invests everything he has-- 735 00:55:05,678 --> 00:55:07,468 about four thousand dollars-- 736 00:55:07,554 --> 00:55:09,724 into building his first refinery. 737 00:55:10,182 --> 00:55:11,142 - No, higher! 738 00:55:11,225 --> 00:55:12,135 Higher! 739 00:55:12,226 --> 00:55:13,636 - NARRATOR: But he struggles early on 740 00:55:13,727 --> 00:55:15,727 to find an edge in the industry. 741 00:55:16,438 --> 00:55:19,018 That changes when the most powerful man 742 00:55:19,108 --> 00:55:21,068 in the country comes calling. 743 00:55:21,151 --> 00:55:22,491 - Mr. Rockefeller. 744 00:55:23,320 --> 00:55:25,410 - NARRATOR: The deal with Vanderbilt gives him cheap 745 00:55:25,489 --> 00:55:27,239 shipping rates and the chance 746 00:55:27,324 --> 00:55:29,534 to corner the U.S oil market. 747 00:55:30,661 --> 00:55:34,001 But he's over-promised, agreeing to supply sixty 748 00:55:34,081 --> 00:55:37,421 barrels a day, when his capacity is less than half that. 749 00:55:38,752 --> 00:55:41,422 And when you've made a deal with the most powerful man 750 00:55:41,505 --> 00:55:44,625 in America, failure is not an option. 751 00:55:46,093 --> 00:55:47,143 - DONALD TRUMP: You have to be smart, 752 00:55:47,219 --> 00:55:48,429 you have to have vision, you have to have 753 00:55:48,512 --> 00:55:52,062 all these different things, but the most successful people 754 00:55:52,141 --> 00:55:54,061 are the people that had the right idea 755 00:55:54,143 --> 00:55:56,603 but never ever quit or gave up. 756 00:55:58,522 --> 00:56:00,822 The people that really succeed in life 757 00:56:00,899 --> 00:56:02,609 are those that don't quit. 758 00:56:03,610 --> 00:56:07,200 - NARRATOR: Rockefeller needs to quickly expand his company, 759 00:56:07,281 --> 00:56:09,491 and to do that, he needs investors. 760 00:56:10,367 --> 00:56:13,537 The problem is, kerosene is getting a bad name. 761 00:56:18,959 --> 00:56:21,709 Stories of the fuel exploding and burning down 762 00:56:21,795 --> 00:56:23,835 homes are on the front page of newspapers 763 00:56:23,922 --> 00:56:29,012 across the country, making potential investors skeptical. 764 00:56:31,013 --> 00:56:33,773 Due to high demand, many refiners are rushing 765 00:56:33,849 --> 00:56:36,059 to market with dangerous kerosene 766 00:56:36,143 --> 00:56:37,733 that's extremely volatile. 767 00:56:41,857 --> 00:56:44,727 Rockefeller sees the problem as an opportunity. 768 00:56:45,319 --> 00:56:47,699 He realizes that there's a need to calm 769 00:56:47,780 --> 00:56:50,990 the public's fears and provide them with a product 770 00:56:51,074 --> 00:56:52,534 they can rely on. 771 00:56:53,160 --> 00:56:57,370 - ROCKEFELLER: Oil refining. Warehouses. Barrel making. 772 00:56:57,456 --> 00:56:59,116 And shipping facilities. 773 00:56:59,750 --> 00:57:01,000 - Why the name? 774 00:57:01,668 --> 00:57:03,918 - Because Standard Oil will be the only company 775 00:57:04,004 --> 00:57:06,514 in the industry to guarantee a uniform 776 00:57:06,590 --> 00:57:08,050 quality of kerosene. 777 00:57:11,929 --> 00:57:13,969 - JERRY WEINTRAUB: The Rockefellers, 778 00:57:14,056 --> 00:57:16,176 and all these guys, they were all great salesman. 779 00:57:16,266 --> 00:57:18,516 At the end of the day, it's the salesmen 780 00:57:18,602 --> 00:57:19,812 who make the money. 781 00:57:20,938 --> 00:57:22,478 - STEVE WYNN: Well, you can certainly understand 782 00:57:22,564 --> 00:57:25,194 how Rockefeller could've named his oil company 783 00:57:25,275 --> 00:57:26,605 Standard Oil. 784 00:57:26,693 --> 00:57:28,613 Pretty ambitious, organic name. 785 00:57:28,695 --> 00:57:32,615 He was creating a standard, and, uh, it worked. 786 00:57:34,785 --> 00:57:37,745 - NARRATOR: Rockefeller's Standard Oil quiets fears 787 00:57:37,830 --> 00:57:40,160 and immediately becomes the most sought-after product 788 00:57:40,249 --> 00:57:43,919 in the country, bringing in investor after investor. 789 00:57:50,884 --> 00:57:53,304 America is expanding rapidly. 790 00:57:59,601 --> 00:58:03,061 Cornelius Vanderbilt's railroads have united the country, 791 00:58:03,856 --> 00:58:06,356 and commerce now moves faster than ever. 792 00:58:09,403 --> 00:58:13,033 But America's newest obsession is light-- 793 00:58:14,116 --> 00:58:15,656 clean, safe light. 794 00:58:17,870 --> 00:58:20,790 The kind provided by John D. Rockefeller. 795 00:58:25,878 --> 00:58:27,998 Oil is changing the world. 796 00:58:28,922 --> 00:58:32,262 And the Ohio refiner is leading the charge. 797 00:58:34,553 --> 00:58:36,973 - RICHARD PARSONS: The titans of that day 798 00:58:37,055 --> 00:58:39,595 revolutionized business in America. 799 00:58:39,683 --> 00:58:43,483 We became the sort of dominant economic force 800 00:58:43,562 --> 00:58:46,152 in the world because we could make stuff, 801 00:58:46,231 --> 00:58:48,731 we could create stuff, we could build stuff, 802 00:58:48,817 --> 00:58:50,187 we could power stuff. 803 00:58:53,947 --> 00:58:56,487 - NARRATOR: John Rockefeller's Standard Oil is now 804 00:58:56,575 --> 00:58:59,825 the largest producer of refined kerosene in the country. 805 00:59:02,915 --> 00:59:05,955 And his exclusive deal with Vanderbilt allows him 806 00:59:06,043 --> 00:59:09,253 to ship his project to homes throughout 807 00:59:09,338 --> 00:59:12,588 the country at incredibly cheap rates. 808 00:59:18,305 --> 00:59:19,715 But for Rockefeller, 809 00:59:21,850 --> 00:59:23,180 it isn't enough. 810 00:59:28,231 --> 00:59:30,651 He's outgrown his deal with Vanderbilt. 811 00:59:32,235 --> 00:59:35,105 Once unable to fill Vanderbilt's trains, 812 00:59:36,657 --> 00:59:40,157 now he has more oil than the Commodore can possibly ship, 813 00:59:41,620 --> 00:59:44,540 and Vanderbilt's biggest competitor knows it. 814 00:59:48,585 --> 00:59:50,375 Tom Scott is the president 815 00:59:50,462 --> 00:59:53,172 of one of the largest train lines in the country. 816 00:59:54,841 --> 00:59:56,931 He wants to take Vanderbilt's place 817 00:59:57,010 --> 01:00:00,850 as King of the Railroads, and he knows a deal with 818 01:00:00,931 --> 01:00:03,021 Rockefeller is the key. 819 01:00:09,856 --> 01:00:12,476 Scott heads to Cleveland with his protégé, 820 01:00:13,360 --> 01:00:16,530 a young up-and-comer named Andrew Carnegie. 821 01:00:18,699 --> 01:00:21,159 As Scott's most trusted lieutenant, 822 01:00:22,619 --> 01:00:25,119 Carnegie has helped craft the pitch. 823 01:00:27,666 --> 01:00:29,536 - What's I'm proposing is an alliance between-- 824 01:00:29,626 --> 01:00:32,416 - ROCKEFELLER: You want a cartel between oil and railroads. 825 01:00:34,006 --> 01:00:35,006 - I prefer to call it by its-- 826 01:00:35,090 --> 01:00:36,510 - Give me the numbers. 827 01:00:39,511 --> 01:00:41,511 - Standard Oil will receive a forty percent 828 01:00:41,596 --> 01:00:43,596 rebate for every barrel it ships. 829 01:00:44,683 --> 01:00:46,353 - SCOTT: We'll send papers over in the morning. 830 01:00:46,435 --> 01:00:47,385 - No. 831 01:00:50,063 --> 01:00:51,563 A verbal contract is fine. 832 01:00:57,362 --> 01:00:59,992 - NARRATOR: Rockefeller gets a better deal from Scott 833 01:01:00,073 --> 01:01:02,533 than he ever could've gotten from Vanderbilt. 834 01:01:10,751 --> 01:01:12,631 - VANDERBILT: The shyster. 835 01:01:17,841 --> 01:01:21,221 - NARRATOR: The Commodore has lost his competitive edge. 836 01:01:22,220 --> 01:01:25,140 - J.S. STILES: To the great frustration of Vanderbilt, 837 01:01:25,223 --> 01:01:26,933 Rockefeller very skillfully played 838 01:01:27,017 --> 01:01:28,557 those railroads against each other. 839 01:01:29,394 --> 01:01:31,154 Oil was something the railroads 840 01:01:31,229 --> 01:01:34,519 couldn't afford to let go, and so they fought very hard 841 01:01:34,608 --> 01:01:35,858 to get that traffic. 842 01:01:37,944 --> 01:01:40,034 - NARRATOR: With the railroads in his pocket, 843 01:01:41,114 --> 01:01:44,084 Rockefeller can supply every home in the nation 844 01:01:44,159 --> 01:01:45,989 with Standard Oil kerosene, 845 01:01:46,578 --> 01:01:48,538 and with all that profit, 846 01:01:49,206 --> 01:01:52,036 Rockefeller begins to buy out his competitors. 847 01:01:53,376 --> 01:01:55,746 - ROCKEFELLER: We need to stand together. 848 01:01:57,047 --> 01:01:59,417 I'm offering all of you a way out, 849 01:02:00,675 --> 01:02:02,715 so you can hold your heads high. 850 01:02:03,553 --> 01:02:05,723 The opportunity to sell to Standard Oil 851 01:02:05,806 --> 01:02:07,596 will be a godsend to you all. 852 01:02:09,309 --> 01:02:11,599 If you take Standard Oil stock, 853 01:02:12,437 --> 01:02:15,517 you and your loved ones will never know want. 854 01:02:19,486 --> 01:02:21,696 - NARRATOR: His intent is simple: 855 01:02:24,741 --> 01:02:25,701 he wants to own 856 01:02:25,784 --> 01:02:27,834 every refinery in the country. 857 01:02:40,799 --> 01:02:43,759 It's a concept that's been impossible to execute. 858 01:02:46,429 --> 01:02:49,099 Today, we know it as a "monopoly". 859 01:02:56,606 --> 01:02:59,646 But Rockefeller isn't just expanding his company, 860 01:03:02,028 --> 01:03:04,408 he's also looking to maximize profit-- 861 01:03:05,949 --> 01:03:07,409 by any means necessary. 862 01:03:08,201 --> 01:03:09,581 - We've got another refinery. 863 01:03:11,204 --> 01:03:12,374 One more into the fold. 864 01:03:13,081 --> 01:03:14,671 - Do you want me to take a look at it? 865 01:03:15,375 --> 01:03:18,205 - No. I want you to shut it down. 866 01:03:22,507 --> 01:03:24,837 - The business of creating monopolies, 867 01:03:24,926 --> 01:03:28,256 crushing opposition-- part of me says he did that 868 01:03:28,346 --> 01:03:30,556 because it was there to be done, 869 01:03:31,683 --> 01:03:33,683 and he could do it better than anybody else 870 01:03:33,768 --> 01:03:36,018 and he made a bloody fortune out of it. 871 01:03:41,443 --> 01:03:43,533 - NARRATOR: By the time he's finished, 872 01:03:43,612 --> 01:03:45,612 Rockefeller controls ninety percent 873 01:03:45,697 --> 01:03:47,737 of the North American oil supply. 874 01:03:50,869 --> 01:03:54,459 His company, Standard Oil, is the country's first monopoly. 875 01:03:57,292 --> 01:04:00,212 At thirty-three, the Ohio oil man 876 01:04:02,088 --> 01:04:05,088 is now the most powerful man in the country. 877 01:04:16,519 --> 01:04:18,849 The Commodore has created a monster. 878 01:04:21,316 --> 01:04:24,816 He realizes that the only way to combat Rockefeller 879 01:04:26,446 --> 01:04:29,316 is for the railroads to start working together. 880 01:04:35,538 --> 01:04:39,078 He forms an unlikely alliance with his biggest rival, 881 01:04:39,167 --> 01:04:41,457 Tom Scott, and together, 882 01:04:42,170 --> 01:04:45,010 they agree to pull all of Rockefeller's deals. 883 01:04:59,062 --> 01:05:00,692 - ROCKEFELLER: Thank you. 884 01:05:17,747 --> 01:05:20,417 - NARRATOR: To Rockefeller, the move 885 01:05:20,500 --> 01:05:24,170 is nothing short of a declaration of war. 886 01:05:31,970 --> 01:05:35,760 America is emerging as one of the mightiest nations on earth. 887 01:05:36,766 --> 01:05:39,516 The country is now crowded with rail lines 888 01:05:41,021 --> 01:05:43,811 and kerosene lights most homes. 889 01:05:45,567 --> 01:05:49,447 The amazing evolution has been led by two men driven 890 01:05:49,529 --> 01:05:53,489 by a desire to create a world that few imagined. 891 01:05:54,951 --> 01:05:58,871 "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt and John D. Rockefeller 892 01:05:58,955 --> 01:06:01,705 have sparked the modernization of the country. 893 01:06:03,293 --> 01:06:06,713 But the former partners' interests are no longer aligned. 894 01:06:09,799 --> 01:06:12,129 Vanderbilt has formed an unlikely alliance 895 01:06:12,218 --> 01:06:16,178 with Tom Scott, aimed at forcing their biggest client 896 01:06:16,264 --> 01:06:17,894 to pay going rates. 897 01:06:21,811 --> 01:06:24,021 John Rockefeller sees their actions 898 01:06:24,105 --> 01:06:25,765 as a declaration of war, 899 01:06:28,693 --> 01:06:30,153 and he's not going down 900 01:06:30,236 --> 01:06:31,396 without a fight. 901 01:06:32,614 --> 01:06:35,624 - H.W. BRAND: John Rockefeller had the ruthlessness 902 01:06:35,700 --> 01:06:39,330 that sometimes come from utter conviction 903 01:06:39,412 --> 01:06:44,042 that what he was doing was right, and not just correct, 904 01:06:44,125 --> 01:06:48,915 but divinely inspired, and the people who opposed him 905 01:06:49,005 --> 01:06:52,875 weren't really entitled to their point of view, 906 01:06:52,967 --> 01:06:55,217 because their point of view was wrong. 907 01:06:59,891 --> 01:07:05,021 It was almost as though they had turned aside God's grace. 908 01:07:05,105 --> 01:07:08,395 Well, if you turn aside God's offer of grace, 909 01:07:08,483 --> 01:07:10,483 then expect no mercy. 910 01:07:11,736 --> 01:07:13,356 - NARRATOR: Rockefeller is determined to find 911 01:07:13,446 --> 01:07:15,356 another way to transport his oil. 912 01:07:18,159 --> 01:07:21,329 He knows if he can't, the railroads will win. 913 01:07:31,047 --> 01:07:33,377 Rockefeller's solution again comes 914 01:07:33,466 --> 01:07:35,716 from the most unlikely of places. 915 01:07:36,344 --> 01:07:39,264 - So we can increase the yield of the kerosene, 916 01:07:39,347 --> 01:07:42,267 but then we get more of the volatile waste. 917 01:07:43,184 --> 01:07:45,944 We can burn some of it off as fuel in the refinery, 918 01:07:46,020 --> 01:07:48,980 but its high flammability creates a storage problem. 919 01:07:57,657 --> 01:07:59,157 When we get to higher temperatures 920 01:07:59,242 --> 01:08:01,622 we can start creating the lubing oils. 921 01:08:07,292 --> 01:08:09,712 I'll need to reconfigure the refinery. 922 01:08:16,384 --> 01:08:20,764 - NARRATOR: Oil in the refinery is moved using large pipes, 923 01:08:20,847 --> 01:08:24,387 and Rockefeller realizes if those pipes can transport 924 01:08:24,476 --> 01:08:26,556 oil over short distances, 925 01:08:27,353 --> 01:08:30,193 they could also be used over longer distances. 926 01:08:33,234 --> 01:08:36,114 If Rockefeller can build a pipeline large enough, 927 01:08:37,405 --> 01:08:39,405 he'll be able to cut the railroads 928 01:08:39,491 --> 01:08:42,331 out of the oil business, for good. 929 01:09:24,827 --> 01:09:27,577 The pipeline will require a massive investment, 930 01:09:27,664 --> 01:09:29,084 and incredible risk. 931 01:09:29,916 --> 01:09:32,536 But if he gets it right, Rockefeller will be able 932 01:09:32,627 --> 01:09:35,837 to do what he loves to do most, win. 933 01:09:37,757 --> 01:09:40,547 - It probably comes early in an entrepreneur's life 934 01:09:40,635 --> 01:09:42,175 where you realize you're willing to do things 935 01:09:42,262 --> 01:09:46,062 in the business world that other people aren't willing to do. 936 01:09:46,516 --> 01:09:49,426 Everybody has got ideas, and everybody's got 937 01:09:49,519 --> 01:09:52,309 ambitions, but most people aren't willing 938 01:09:52,397 --> 01:09:55,107 to cross that line, and I think an entrepreneur 939 01:09:55,191 --> 01:09:57,441 that's successful, that's your nature. 940 01:09:57,527 --> 01:10:00,027 Wherever there's change, wherever there's uncertainty, 941 01:10:00,113 --> 01:10:01,453 there's opportunity. 942 01:10:34,272 --> 01:10:36,982 - NARRATOR: Rockefeller's workers labor around the clock-- 943 01:10:37,066 --> 01:10:38,686 - (explosion) 944 01:10:38,776 --> 01:10:41,396 - NARRATOR: --blasting through the countryside, 945 01:10:41,487 --> 01:10:44,617 and laying over a mile and a half of pipeline every day. 946 01:10:46,117 --> 01:10:47,737 - JACK WELCH: Business, in the end, 947 01:10:47,827 --> 01:10:49,827 is understanding the playing field. 948 01:10:50,204 --> 01:10:52,874 Tell me who's on it, what their strengths are, 949 01:10:52,957 --> 01:10:56,377 what their weaknesses are, and what is your checkmate play, 950 01:10:57,003 --> 01:10:58,963 to top 'em, and nail 'em. 951 01:10:59,672 --> 01:11:02,842 And so you're always in that competitive game. 952 01:11:02,925 --> 01:11:04,755 You're looking at innovation. 953 01:11:04,844 --> 01:11:07,144 You're looking at leap-frogging, 954 01:11:07,221 --> 01:11:09,101 trying to get ahead of them. 955 01:11:09,182 --> 01:11:10,852 You're never complacent. 956 01:11:10,933 --> 01:11:14,063 You're semi-paranoid about what they're doing. 957 01:11:14,729 --> 01:11:16,609 That's what the game is all about. 958 01:11:17,774 --> 01:11:20,234 - NARRATOR: By the time the pipeline is complete, 959 01:11:20,318 --> 01:11:22,358 it's over four thousand miles long, 960 01:11:23,071 --> 01:11:25,991 stretching across Ohio and Pennsylvania, 961 01:11:26,074 --> 01:11:28,374 and connecting thousands of the world's most 962 01:11:28,451 --> 01:11:33,411 lucrative oil wells directly to Rockefeller's refineries. 963 01:11:38,086 --> 01:11:40,746 John Rockefeller has finally found his way 964 01:11:40,838 --> 01:11:43,878 to eliminate the railroads from the oil business, 965 01:11:43,966 --> 01:11:47,256 and in the process, he's forever revolutionized 966 01:11:47,345 --> 01:11:49,755 the way oil is transported. 967 01:11:53,935 --> 01:11:55,975 - (train whistle blows) 968 01:11:59,816 --> 01:12:03,066 - NARRATOR: For twenty-five years, the railroads have been 969 01:12:03,152 --> 01:12:05,612 the biggest industry in the country, 970 01:12:05,697 --> 01:12:07,987 the backbone of the American economy. 971 01:12:09,575 --> 01:12:14,655 No one has ever had the nerve to take them on, until now. 972 01:12:17,041 --> 01:12:19,211 Rockefeller knows that without his oil, 973 01:12:20,962 --> 01:12:23,462 the railroads will struggle to stay alive. 974 01:12:30,096 --> 01:12:32,346 It's a colossal blow to the industry, 975 01:12:33,182 --> 01:12:34,892 and with all that leverage, 976 01:12:34,976 --> 01:12:37,976 Rockefeller has Vanderbilt and the railroads 977 01:12:38,062 --> 01:12:39,732 right where he wants them. 978 01:12:51,284 --> 01:12:53,834 The United States of America is changing 979 01:12:53,911 --> 01:12:55,161 like never before. 980 01:12:56,205 --> 01:12:58,455 In just a decade, the country has become 981 01:12:58,541 --> 01:13:00,581 one of the most advanced on earth, 982 01:13:01,502 --> 01:13:04,462 and darkness no longer means the end of the day. 983 01:13:05,840 --> 01:13:08,590 Two men have driven this remaking of the country. 984 01:13:11,179 --> 01:13:14,259 John D. Rockefeller and Cornelius Vanderbilt 985 01:13:14,348 --> 01:13:16,388 are locked in a battle of wills. 986 01:13:20,688 --> 01:13:21,808 - Commodore. 987 01:13:21,898 --> 01:13:23,268 - Mr. Rockefeller. 988 01:13:25,943 --> 01:13:28,653 - NARRATOR: Vanderbilt and his competitors are in drastic 989 01:13:28,738 --> 01:13:32,068 search of passengers and cargo to fill the trains 990 01:13:32,158 --> 01:13:33,868 running on their lines. 991 01:13:33,951 --> 01:13:36,751 - In the 1870s, the country needed to be connected 992 01:13:36,829 --> 01:13:38,829 via railroads, and what happens 993 01:13:38,915 --> 01:13:43,125 then is everybody who thinks they have an edge 994 01:13:43,211 --> 01:13:46,131 in the railroad business goes out and raises money 995 01:13:46,214 --> 01:13:48,554 and they start their own railroad. 996 01:13:48,633 --> 01:13:50,763 And what happened then is we've seen happen 997 01:13:50,843 --> 01:13:54,433 many of times since then, is it created a huge bubble. 998 01:13:54,514 --> 01:13:56,564 - NARRATOR: John D. Rockefeller's oil 999 01:13:56,641 --> 01:13:58,061 makes up nearly forty percent 1000 01:13:58,142 --> 01:14:00,392 of the cargo shipped on the rails. 1001 01:14:02,480 --> 01:14:05,190 But when Vanderbilt teams with his biggest rival 1002 01:14:05,274 --> 01:14:08,154 to push for a rate increase, Rockefeller takes it 1003 01:14:08,236 --> 01:14:10,316 as a declaration of war. 1004 01:14:12,698 --> 01:14:15,118 He builds a pipeline in response, 1005 01:14:16,494 --> 01:14:18,544 and begins to pull his shipments. 1006 01:14:19,580 --> 01:14:22,750 And since the railroads have been drastically overbuilt, 1007 01:14:22,834 --> 01:14:25,044 losing cargo means losing money. 1008 01:14:26,671 --> 01:14:29,591 Stocks plummet as investors run scared. 1009 01:14:31,133 --> 01:14:33,343 - When prices get out of control, 1010 01:14:33,427 --> 01:14:35,257 and smart people decide, 1011 01:14:35,346 --> 01:14:38,636 "Wow, this thing is a bubble, I want out", 1012 01:14:38,724 --> 01:14:41,354 then you can get a collapse very quickly. 1013 01:14:59,245 --> 01:15:02,115 - NARRATOR: By the time the Panic is through, 1014 01:15:02,206 --> 01:15:06,076 one-third of the country's 360 railroad companies 1015 01:15:06,168 --> 01:15:07,628 have gone bankrupt. 1016 01:15:09,213 --> 01:15:11,843 - ALAN GREENSPAN: Every crisis of this type, 1017 01:15:11,924 --> 01:15:14,134 whether it's 2008, 1018 01:15:14,802 --> 01:15:17,602 or 1873, 1019 01:15:18,264 --> 01:15:19,684 has got the same roots. 1020 01:15:20,308 --> 01:15:23,178 Namely, that it was unanticipated. 1021 01:15:23,728 --> 01:15:28,018 So a necessary condition for a crisis is nobody expects it. 1022 01:15:29,984 --> 01:15:32,574 - NARRATOR: The crash is the worst America has seen 1023 01:15:32,653 --> 01:15:33,993 in its short history. 1024 01:15:36,490 --> 01:15:39,240 Unsure how to prevent a complete collapse, 1025 01:15:39,327 --> 01:15:43,327 the stock exchange shuts down and stays closed 1026 01:15:43,414 --> 01:15:45,294 for ten straight days. 1027 01:15:50,087 --> 01:15:52,337 - H.W. BRAND: The Panic of 1873 triggered 1028 01:15:52,423 --> 01:15:56,053 the first full-blown national depression, 1029 01:15:56,135 --> 01:15:58,505 and nobody quite knew what to do about it. 1030 01:16:09,857 --> 01:16:13,487 For the first time, large--very large-- 1031 01:16:13,569 --> 01:16:16,359 numbers ofAmerican workers were without jobs. 1032 01:16:23,955 --> 01:16:26,575 Workers got laid off, but the owners, 1033 01:16:26,666 --> 01:16:28,246 they still lived in the style 1034 01:16:28,334 --> 01:16:30,094 that they were accustomed to. 1035 01:16:32,088 --> 01:16:35,258 But no one was shedding any tears for John D. Rockefeller. 1036 01:16:37,802 --> 01:16:39,972 People were saving their tears for themselves, 1037 01:16:40,054 --> 01:16:42,014 when they found themselves out of work, 1038 01:16:42,098 --> 01:16:44,718 out of their homes, out of food, out of hope. 1039 01:16:53,526 --> 01:16:56,066 - NARRATOR: While many of the biggest companies 1040 01:16:56,153 --> 01:16:58,203 in the country struggle to survive, 1041 01:16:58,280 --> 01:17:00,570 Rockefeller sees opportunity, 1042 01:17:02,576 --> 01:17:05,696 his belief in the survival of the fittest kicking in. 1043 01:17:08,708 --> 01:17:10,788 As his competition collapses, 1044 01:17:10,876 --> 01:17:12,956 Rockefeller picks them off, 1045 01:17:13,754 --> 01:17:16,804 buying out bankrupt oil companies for next to nothing. 1046 01:17:17,842 --> 01:17:19,722 - DONALD TRUMP: I find that I do better in bad markets. 1047 01:17:19,802 --> 01:17:21,552 I buy things in bad markets. 1048 01:17:21,637 --> 01:17:24,097 And, you can't do that in a great economy. 1049 01:17:24,181 --> 01:17:25,181 You can't buy it. 1050 01:17:25,266 --> 01:17:27,346 Either you're gonna buy it very expensively 1051 01:17:27,435 --> 01:17:29,015 or not be able to buy it at all. 1052 01:17:29,103 --> 01:17:31,153 So there's a lot of opportunity, I find, 1053 01:17:31,230 --> 01:17:32,400 in the bad times. 1054 01:17:33,024 --> 01:17:35,234 - NARRATOR: By the time the depression is through, 1055 01:17:35,317 --> 01:17:36,567 Rockefeller has created 1056 01:17:36,652 --> 01:17:39,362 the largest corporate empire in America. 1057 01:17:41,115 --> 01:17:44,325 - H.W. BRAND: He was playing the game of industry, 1058 01:17:44,410 --> 01:17:47,450 and he was simply better at it than everybody else. 1059 01:17:48,039 --> 01:17:50,919 He saw the industrial marketplace 1060 01:17:51,417 --> 01:17:53,917 as a place for the survival of the fittest, 1061 01:17:54,003 --> 01:17:56,343 and he was fitter than anybody else, 1062 01:17:56,422 --> 01:17:57,672 therefore he survived. 1063 01:17:57,757 --> 01:18:00,007 Not only that, therefore he deserved to survive, 1064 01:18:00,092 --> 01:18:01,432 and they didn't. 1065 01:18:08,893 --> 01:18:11,563 - NARRATOR: While Rockefeller expands his company, 1066 01:18:11,645 --> 01:18:13,515 his adversaries at the railroads 1067 01:18:13,606 --> 01:18:15,226 are struggling to survive. 1068 01:18:16,817 --> 01:18:19,817 Then, at the height of the depression, 1069 01:18:19,904 --> 01:18:22,454 the king of the American railroads, 1070 01:18:22,531 --> 01:18:24,241 Cornelius Vanderbilt, 1071 01:18:25,910 --> 01:18:28,240 dies, at the age of 82. 1072 01:18:31,332 --> 01:18:33,372 Vanderbilt leaves his empire, 1073 01:18:33,459 --> 01:18:35,789 worth over one hundred million dollars, 1074 01:18:35,878 --> 01:18:37,628 to his son, William. 1075 01:18:41,300 --> 01:18:44,090 Rockefeller knows that without Vanderbilt, 1076 01:18:44,178 --> 01:18:46,968 he would've never been able to build his empire. 1077 01:18:56,232 --> 01:18:58,692 - (train hisses) 1078 01:18:59,151 --> 01:19:02,071 - NARRATOR: But Rockefeller's last remaining adversaries 1079 01:19:02,154 --> 01:19:04,324 refuse to go down without a fight. 1080 01:19:05,116 --> 01:19:08,236 Tom Scott, and his protégé, Andrew Carnegie, 1081 01:19:08,327 --> 01:19:10,157 have managed to survive. 1082 01:19:10,579 --> 01:19:12,999 And since Rockefeller's pipeline doesn't extend 1083 01:19:13,082 --> 01:19:16,502 to Pittsburgh, he's forced to continue to use their trains. 1084 01:19:17,711 --> 01:19:21,421 But Scott knows if he and Carnegie don't diversify, 1085 01:19:21,507 --> 01:19:22,967 they won't survive. 1086 01:19:33,144 --> 01:19:35,354 Scott devises an aggressive plan 1087 01:19:35,437 --> 01:19:36,897 to expand his empire. 1088 01:19:39,233 --> 01:19:42,153 One that's sure to catch Rockefeller's attention. 1089 01:19:45,364 --> 01:19:47,624 He's going to break into the oil business 1090 01:19:48,242 --> 01:19:50,952 by building a pipeline of his own. 1091 01:20:00,796 --> 01:20:02,836 But if there's one thing John Rockefeller 1092 01:20:02,923 --> 01:20:06,343 hates more than anything else, it's competition. 1093 01:20:09,471 --> 01:20:11,811 Tom Scott is in for war. 1094 01:20:17,188 --> 01:20:20,228 - ROCKEFELLER: I've tried to be friendly to the Pennsylvania. 1095 01:20:22,568 --> 01:20:25,028 I've given you plenty of business, have I not? 1096 01:20:25,112 --> 01:20:27,782 And now, I find that you're invading my field. 1097 01:20:29,700 --> 01:20:31,280 And that, my friend, is piracy. 1098 01:20:36,165 --> 01:20:38,245 - We'll take your feelings into account, 1099 01:20:38,334 --> 01:20:39,424 Mr. Rockefeller. 1100 01:20:41,462 --> 01:20:44,092 - Two thirds of the oil you carry comes from me. 1101 01:20:44,924 --> 01:20:48,384 If you don't retreat, I'll take it to the other railroads. 1102 01:20:51,764 --> 01:20:54,064 - As far as I'm aware, there isn't another railroad 1103 01:20:54,141 --> 01:20:56,391 that runs from Pittsburgh to New York. 1104 01:21:17,581 --> 01:21:20,791 - NARRATOR: America's growth after the Civil War is driven 1105 01:21:20,876 --> 01:21:22,916 by railroads uniting the country, 1106 01:21:25,756 --> 01:21:27,716 and oil lighting the way. 1107 01:21:29,677 --> 01:21:31,967 No one has capitalized on the growth 1108 01:21:32,054 --> 01:21:33,934 more than John D. Rockefeller, 1109 01:21:35,015 --> 01:21:37,305 who now controls ninety percent 1110 01:21:37,393 --> 01:21:38,983 of the U.S oil market. 1111 01:21:48,028 --> 01:21:50,528 With the death of Cornelius Vanderbilt, 1112 01:21:50,614 --> 01:21:53,834 only one man stands in the way of Rockefeller's 1113 01:21:53,909 --> 01:21:55,619 complete control of oil, 1114 01:21:59,540 --> 01:22:00,500 Tom Scott. 1115 01:22:03,043 --> 01:22:06,093 - H.W. BRAND: There was a sort of mutual admiration 1116 01:22:06,171 --> 01:22:09,471 among the big capitalists, but it was an admiration 1117 01:22:09,550 --> 01:22:12,340 that was accompanied by deep suspicion. 1118 01:22:12,720 --> 01:22:18,020 The big capitalists of the day eyed each other very warily. 1119 01:22:18,517 --> 01:22:21,597 Rockefeller looked on Tom Scott, 1120 01:22:22,229 --> 01:22:25,399 of the Penn Railroad, as a competitor. 1121 01:22:27,943 --> 01:22:30,653 - NARRATOR: Tom Scott's trains transport oil to 1122 01:22:30,738 --> 01:22:33,818 and from Rockefeller's refineries in Pittsburgh, 1123 01:22:33,907 --> 01:22:36,617 where the Standard Oil pipeline doesn't reach. 1124 01:22:39,121 --> 01:22:41,711 With all that leverage, Scott is confident 1125 01:22:41,790 --> 01:22:45,040 he has the ammunition to take on Rockefeller. 1126 01:22:50,424 --> 01:22:53,724 But Rockefeller isn't one to back down from a fight. 1127 01:22:59,266 --> 01:23:01,386 - I don't want one drop of our oil traveling 1128 01:23:01,477 --> 01:23:02,477 on the Pennsylvania. 1129 01:23:02,561 --> 01:23:05,521 - But what about the Pittsburgh refineries? 1130 01:23:05,606 --> 01:23:07,066 - Shut them down. 1131 01:23:12,863 --> 01:23:15,323 - NARRATOR: Shutting down his refineries will cost 1132 01:23:15,407 --> 01:23:17,867 Standard Oil a fortune in lost revenue, 1133 01:23:19,453 --> 01:23:22,333 but for Rockefeller, crushing his competition 1134 01:23:22,414 --> 01:23:24,504 matters more than anything else. 1135 01:23:29,046 --> 01:23:32,756 Without Rockefeller's oil, Scott loses nearly 1136 01:23:32,841 --> 01:23:34,261 half of his business, 1137 01:23:37,596 --> 01:23:38,966 forcing him to lay off 1138 01:23:39,056 --> 01:23:42,886 tens of thousands of workers, and drastically cut wages. 1139 01:23:46,480 --> 01:23:49,320 Those workers take to the streets in protest. 1140 01:23:54,113 --> 01:23:56,323 And as darkness falls on Pittsburgh, 1141 01:23:57,282 --> 01:23:58,492 they turn violent. 1142 01:23:58,575 --> 01:23:59,945 - (shouting) 1143 01:24:01,161 --> 01:24:04,711 - NARRATOR: A fire is set in Tom Scott's train yards. 1144 01:24:04,790 --> 01:24:07,460 - (shouting) - (explosion) 1145 01:24:20,264 --> 01:24:22,064 - NARRATOR: Before the night is over, 1146 01:24:22,141 --> 01:24:24,021 more than thirty-nine buildings 1147 01:24:24,101 --> 01:24:26,601 and over twelve hundred train cars are destroyed. 1148 01:24:35,112 --> 01:24:38,032 Tom Scott's company lays in ruin. 1149 01:24:43,287 --> 01:24:45,497 - H.W. BRAND: This is how capitalism works. 1150 01:24:45,581 --> 01:24:48,541 The railroads had been the big suppliers 1151 01:24:48,625 --> 01:24:50,665 of transportation in the oil industry, 1152 01:24:50,752 --> 01:24:52,882 and so the railroads quite naturally resisted. 1153 01:24:54,965 --> 01:24:57,425 They dug in their heels whenever they could. 1154 01:24:58,594 --> 01:25:00,054 Eventually they lost. 1155 01:25:24,703 --> 01:25:25,703 - Come on. 1156 01:25:29,917 --> 01:25:30,917 Let's go. 1157 01:25:43,597 --> 01:25:45,767 - NARRATOR: John D. Rockefeller 1158 01:25:45,849 --> 01:25:48,229 has replaced Cornelius Vanderbilt 1159 01:25:48,310 --> 01:25:50,390 as the richest man in America. 1160 01:25:53,232 --> 01:25:56,862 His net worth is now over $150 million, 1161 01:25:59,696 --> 01:26:02,656 or $225 billion today. 1162 01:26:04,034 --> 01:26:06,334 - JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV: It's dazzlingly amazing 1163 01:26:06,411 --> 01:26:10,001 that one individual was able to corner about ninety-eight 1164 01:26:10,082 --> 01:26:13,712 percent of all the kerosene and eventually 1165 01:26:13,794 --> 01:26:15,674 all production in the world. 1166 01:26:15,754 --> 01:26:18,304 He was a brilliant business person. 1167 01:26:18,382 --> 01:26:20,722 I can only give him credit for that. 1168 01:26:20,801 --> 01:26:24,641 I don't have to give him credit for 1169 01:26:24,721 --> 01:26:28,311 the way that he became that powerful. 1170 01:26:31,103 --> 01:26:33,943 - NARRATOR: But all titans are targets. 1171 01:26:35,649 --> 01:26:38,649 And now Rockefeller is about to come face to face 1172 01:26:41,280 --> 01:26:43,570 with his biggest challenge ever.