President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Revenue Act of 1935 (49 Stat. 1014) into law on August 30, 1935, over strong opposition from business, the wealthy, and conservatives from both parties, introducing the “Wealth Tax” as the first major New Deal effort to reform federal taxation …
Franklin D. RooseveltJohn D. RockefellerBusiness CommunityDemocratic Partytaxationnew-dealwealth-redistributionprogressive-taxationregulatory-victory+1 more
The Supreme Court’s order to break Standard Oil into 34 separate companies produced a profound paradox: the breakup made John D. Rockefeller vastly richer while ultimately failing to prevent reconsolidation. Shareholders in Standard Oil received proportional stakes in each successor …
John D. RockefellerStandard Oil CompanyU.S. Supreme Courtantitrustcorporate-powerwealth-concentrationmonopolyenforcement-limitations
Ida Tarbell began publishing her groundbreaking 19-part investigative series “The History of the Standard Oil Company” in McClure’s Magazine in November 1902, running through October 1904. Her meticulous research exposed the predatory business practices, illegal rebate schemes, and …
Ida TarbellMcClure's MagazineStandard Oil CompanyJohn D. Rockefellerinvestigative-journalismmuckrakingcorporate-powerantitrustmedia+1 more
The United States Steel Corporation is incorporated with authorized capitalization of $1.4 billion, becoming the first billion-dollar corporation in history and controlling 60% of the nation’s primary steel capacity. Financier J.P. Morgan orchestrates the massive consolidation, fusing together …
J.P. MorganAndrew CarnegieCharles SchwabElbert GaryJohn D. Rockefellergilded-agemonopoly-powercorporate-consolidationfinancial-powermerger-wave
By the end of the 1890s, the Standard Oil Trust controls the refining of 90 to 95 percent of all oil produced in the United States, representing the most complete industrial monopoly in American history achieved through systematic elimination of competitors, strategic mergers, and exploitation of …
John D. RockefellerStandard Oil TrustRailroad corporationsCompeting refineriesState regulatorsgilded-agemonopoly-powercorporate-powercorruptionanticompetitive-practices+1 more
William McKinley defeats William Jennings Bryan to win the presidency in what becomes a watershed moment in American campaign finance, powered by Republican National Committee Chairman Mark Hanna’s revolutionary systematic fundraising from corporations. The Ohio industrialist, shipping …
William McKinleyMark HannaStandard OilJohn D. RockefellerRepublican National Committee+1 moregilded-agecampaign-financecorruptioncorporate-powerelectoral-politics+1 more
On January 2, 1882, John D. Rockefeller and 40 other investors signed the Standard Oil Trust Agreement, creating the first modern corporate monopoly structure that controlled 90% of American oil refining. The trust pooled securities from 40 companies under nine trustees—John and William Rockefeller, …
John D. RockefellerStandard Oil CompanyHenry FlaglerSamuel C. T. DoddWilliam Rockefellercorporate-powermonopolytrust-formationgilded-ageinstitutional-capture
Samuel C. T. Dodd, chief attorney for Standard Oil Company, developed a revolutionary legal structure in 1879 that adapted the common law instrument of a trust to create the modern business trust, circumventing Ohio’s anti-trust laws and state restrictions on interstate corporate ownership. …
Samuel C. T. DoddJohn D. RockefellerStandard Oil Companycorporate-powerlegal-innovationregulatory-evasioninstitutional-capturetrust-formation
Between February 17 and March 28, 1872, in what became known as the ‘Cleveland Massacre,’ John D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil acquired 22 of the 26 competing oil refineries in Cleveland, Ohio—a brutal six-week consolidation campaign that established the template for monopolistic …
John D. RockefellerStandard Oil CompanyHenry FlaglerSouth Improvement Companycorporate-powermonopolygilded-agepredatory-pricingmarket-manipulation
John D. Rockefeller incorporated the Standard Oil Company in Ohio with $1 million in capital, transforming an 1863 partnership into what would become America’s most powerful monopoly. The company was formed with Rockefeller, his brother William, Henry Flagler, Samuel Andrews, and other …
John D. RockefellerStandard Oil CompanyHenry FlaglerSamuel AndrewsWilliam Rockefellercorporate-powermonopolygilded-ageoil-industryinstitutional-capture