Why is john d. rockefeller famous? a. he started as a low-paid iron worker in a mill and eventually became the founder of u. s. steel corporation. b. he owned several large banks and on one occasion loaned the u. s. government $62 million. c. he turned his small company, standard oil, into a giant that monopolized the oil industry. d. he borrowed $50 to buy stock in the union pacific railroad and ended up owning the company.