How did Daniel represent the American "oil man" of the period ?

A mineral prospector turned petroleum entrepreneur in the early days of the 20th century, Plainview is middle-aged, unmarried, and the adoptive father of H.W., a young boy orphaned by a fellow oil rig worker. Plainview seems driven, or haunted, by a misanthropy formed early in life which has led him to look for the worst in people. He is a shrewd businessman who is not above deceit and corruption to get what he wants. He seems to show affection to H.W. and his supposed brother Henry, but the veracity of these feelings is uncertain. One could say that his nemesis is the entire human race, but narratively, his wrath and rivalry is focused on Eli Sunday.