The Corporate Hydra America Tried to Kill #history #politics

Added: 2026-05-18

[00:00:00]No America once created a corporate monster so large and terrible that they then had to try to kill it. On this day, May 15th, 1911, the US Supreme Court ordered the Standard Oil Company to be broken apart. Why? Because at one point this company controlled roughly 90% of America's oil industry. Now Standard Oil was founded by a man you might know. His name is John D. Rockefeller. He's one of the titans of industry. And at first the company was praised for efficiency and growth. Oil was becoming cheaper, so Rockefeller was becoming a business legend. But eventually people started to ask dangerous questions. For example, how much power is too much power for one company to have? Critics of the company claimed that Standard Oil was crushing their competitors, manipulating prices, and oh yeah, using its massive influence to shape political policies in its favor. Which sounds oddly familiar.

[00:00:55]Big Pharma.

[00:00:57]Oh, sorry about that. Oh, wait.

[00:01:02]Insurance as well.

[00:01:04]Anyway, as it does the political winds shift, and going after monopolies became more popular than getting paid by them.

[00:01:12]So the federal government sues Standard Oil under the Sherman Antitrust Act. And in 1911, Supreme Court ruled that the company was an illegal monopoly and broke it apart into more than 30 smaller companies, some of which eventually became companies you would recognize today like Exxon and Chevron for example. It was basically the corporate version of cutting the hydra's head off.

[00:01:34]For those of you stuck around, thank you so much, and here's your extra tidbit.

[00:01:37]John D. Rockefeller actually became America's very first billionaire. And if you adjusted his wealth for inflation, it would put him at over $400 billion today. We're talking like buy a small country money. So what do you think? Are monopolies and corporate political influence still major issues today? Let Let know in the comments. If you enjoyed this look at one of America's earliest major monopoly battles, please be sure to hit that like button and subscribe.

[00:02:02]And as always, have a wonderful day.