John D. Rockefeller and Gilded Age 2.0

        Of the several Gilded Age multi-millionaires, John D Rockefeller was one of the wealthiest, biggest names. Like others in his time and before him (Cornelius Vanderbilt for example), Rockefeller was born into modest conditions in New York. As he got older, he ended up building a huge empire mostly revolving around oil industry. This earned him over 500 million dollars, a lot of which he ended up donating to various causes. While on the outside, it might look as if Rockefeller started humbly and built this way to the top, it's debatable if this is actually the case. Along his career and life, he had no shortage of accusations questioning his ethical choices on his path to fortune. People said that he benefitted off other companies failures, bribed people, and had people spy on other companies. This is a common thread seen in other Gilded Age entrepreneurs as well. They are notorious for putting others down to make money and build their businesses. On the other hand, they also often donated a lot of their earnings to charities. 

       The Gilded Age is known for its huge gap between poverty and extreme wealth, as seen in the case of John D. Rockefeller. The other article we read discussed whether or not we can see these same gigantic gaps in our society today. An example that they gave was a huge mansion in California. The house was worth over 200,000 and was about to double in price. The article also draws parallels between the "enthusiasm and anxiety" of the Gilded Age and that seen today. It argues that we can see history repeat itself and we are living in a "Gilded Age 2.0".

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