Why Did Rockefeller Keep a Fortress of Cash?

David Senra says Rockefeller led the strategy as the business organized into an actual corporation so it could issue stock. Only a fraction of the profits would be distributed as dividends among the five stockholders, and he wanted the rest retained in the business. Rockefeller always wanted a large fortress of cash.

A passage in the biography Titan makes the stakes plain: it is impossible to comprehend Rockefeller's breathtaking ascent without realizing that he always moved into battle backed by abundant cash. In downturns and in booms he kept plentiful reserves and won many bidding contests because his war chest was deeper.