with thousands of small-scale prospectors, drillers, and finers competg, the supply of oil was plentifulices were low, and so were profits. rockefeller had been doing well as a cleveland produce wholesaler, but he thought he could do better in oil. ruth sheldon knowles came from an oklahoma oil family. and her book "the greatest gamblers" told the industry's history. rockefeller stayed out of the drilling end because he didn't want to lose any money. he was the one who always wanted to -- he wanted to make the money. and when he saw that there was such a thing as drilling dry holes and you could lose money, it was obvious to him in the beginning, that there was going to be as much money lost in looking for oil as there would be made by finding it. schoumacher: rockefeller bought the oil that other men drilled, refined it, and sold it. by 1869, he had the largest refinery in the country. and a year later, standard oil of ohio was born. when competition squeezed profit margins, rockefeller squeezed the competition. willing competitors were bought. unwilling competitors found themselves cut