Eli5: Standard oil breakup.

Question

Basically I read many explanations but still I can’t really understand, why is it that when standard oil was broken up, Rockefeller made the most money he ever made ? And so, how should his company have been organized so that it didn’t have the be split for him to become a billionaire. Thanks.

In: 3

Answer 1

When a company is split-up because it is deemed a monopoly the shareholders still make money. Pieces of the company are sold which results in a big cash infusion to the shareholders. If you are Rockefeller that is a lot of money.