Essay, Research Paper: John D Rockefeller

John D. Rockefeller controlled almost 90% of oil refineries in US. He pursued several successful and dishonest plans to accumulate capital. He would secretly buy up or create new oil related companies such as engineering and pipeline firms. Rockefeller secretly controlled the firms and gave Standard Oil, there were hidden rebates. He also secretly planned to buy up a competing oil company. The most secret deal by Rockfeller was, with the railroads. The deals where those refineries and oil traders not happy with standards would find that railroads would refuse point blanc to move their oil whatever the price was. The most really important cost was the transportation of the oil. Rockefeller secret railroad debates on the transportation of his oil made competitors wonder how he kept pump prices so low. The Standard Oil was growing at a high rate. Rockefeller misused power and crushed other company competition. Standard Oil Violated social justice in it’s monopolistic deals with railroads. Rockefeller and his partners formed a first corporate trust, Standard Oil Trust, to merge many oil businesses through out the United States into one company. He controlled 90% of oil refineries in country. Standard Oil company was criticized for monopolizing the industry. The Supreme Court ruled that the Standard Oil had continued to act as a monopoly. The Courts antitrust ruling made all Standard Oil companies to become independent businesses. Rockefeller made an estimated 1 billion dollars, 80% of it was given to charity organizations.
Bill Gates’s actions are very similar to Rockefellers. Microsoft tactics are the same as the Standard Oil tactics. Microsoft doesn’t allow competition for other companies such as IBM and Macintosh. When Apple made a successful operating system, Microsoft tried to follow it by creating Windows. Windows became a great success. IBM clones dominated the market along with MS-DOS (built by Gates).
MS-DOS became successful large organizations like standardization and they like to save money. Buying cheap clones and getting a single operating system satisfied both needs. Bill Gates knew that Microsoft is just one market shift away from losing everything. He was so greedy. Microsoft went hard against Netscape, but he underestimated the power of the browser. Microsoft tried to undertake the Internet and tried to become Internet compatible. It used its financial support to gain a grip on the browser market by making Internet Explorer free. Microsoft built a better browser than Netscape. Microsoft drove out competition. The Bill Gates monopoly, is destroying competition. It doesn’t allow companies such as IBM, Macintosh, Netscape competition. This is how Bill Gate was similar to Rockefeller they both didn’t allow competition for other companies and took complete control.
Rockefeller and Bill Gates operated illegal monopolies. This was wrong because these monopolies ruin competition. Larger companies are more powerful than smaller companies that eventually get destroyed. They have complete control. Also monopolies discourages entrepreneurs because they fear suppression by large companies. This complete control is immoral and wrong.



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