Did you know that the Rockefeller family was so rich that they were able to continue and finance the construction of the 14 buildings of Rockefeller Center completely on their own? Rockefeller Center is a very important piece of American history not because of the family that sponsors it, but because of the opportunities it has offered to everyone. Rockefeller Center became a landmark for its importance in the number of jobs created during the Great Depression and the impact it had on the nation's morale. The Rockefeller family was an immensely wealthy family who founded an oil company simply called The Standard Oil Company. The company flourished under the new growing demand for oil, not only domestically but globally. During one of Standard Oil Company's high points, the oil company was selling privately to European and Asian countries for an even greater amount than to the United States itself. The Company subsequently absorbed some other oil companies, forming the Standard Oil Trust and placing the entire operation in the hands of John D. Rockefeller. While at the head of the trust Rockefeller created a highly centralized structure to manage it, this centrally structured investment had immense power over many points of the economy, although many argue that it was not entirely legal. In addition to its control of the economy, the company was highly privatized and was able to expand rapidly by establishing numerous supply lines and joining with railroad companies to "piggyback" their vast networks allowing the Standard Oil Company to undersell all its opponents and cause many of them to join them or declare bankruptcy. While this Trust allowed the Rockefeller family to gain untold wealth over the course…half of paper…just accumulated wealth. The task seemed impossible given the scale of the operation and the situation only worsened. As the Rockefeller family contemplated the weight of the project, the United States plunged into what is known as the darkest period of the US economy, the Great Depression. During the Depression there was a massive influx of Americans who were homeless, unemployed, or sick. When the stock market crashed, not only did citizens lose large amounts of money in the market, but they also subsequently lost the value of their properties in the real estate market, forcing banks still in operation to foreclose and reclaim the homes, creating entire families who were now homeless and with nowhere to go. go. Although large numbers of Americans were left homeless, many were laid off and remained unemployed simply unable to find new work. Furthermore