Today, 88 years ago, on May 23, 1937 (April 14, 1937), Rockefeller died of the disease of the Great Oil King Rockefeller On May 23, 1937, the American rich John D. Rockefeller died of the disease at the age of 98. Before his life, he was a U.S. wealthy man who donated $3.5 billion to education, science and religion. The founder of the United States Petroleum Corporation, the son of a rural doctor, began his entrepreneurial career with almost no formal education and no capital. Since his childhood, he had recorded every brass he earned, learned to work, save and donate. He hoped to educate people with his own money.