What is the main conflict in Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr by Ron Chernow?

In the first part of the nineteenth century, people had to find ways to survive in order to live. These are the circumstances into which John D. Rockefeller was born. Once Rockefeller learned that his father was a bigamist, he did not want to be dependent on the man financially in any way and made up his mind to be financially independent and survive without financial help from his father. He quit high school, attended commercial college and found a job, making him financially independent.

Once John D. Rockefeller was in business, survival became business survival. The economy was basically unstable, with periodic busts and booms. As a result of mass production and technological advance, there was a great deal of overproduction. The result of this was falling prices, making it difficult for businesses to survive. Rockefeller understood the economics of the situation and devised ways to deal with it. This meant absorbing competition to control production and stabilize prices which lead to the formation and growth of Standard Oil and the trust that it became. In reacting to market and business conditions, Rockefeller and Standard used abusive and coercive tactics, which is why he and Standard Oil were so hated at the time.

However, Rockefeller did survive. Not only did he survive the dissolution of the trust, he also became the richest man in the world because of it. Rockefeller wanted to live to be one hundred years old. This was a good he did not reach, dying several weeks before his ninety eighth birthday.