“Liked JDR”
Why? Did you know him?
or just accepted the ‘stories’ about him ....
I was thinking about DuBeers and Rhoades and how the diamond market is managed to create a scarcity
Something similar with oil?
JDR is the original rags to riches story. Unlike many of the modern era chieftains (many of whom had at worst upper middle class background), JDR came from nowheresville NY and moved to Ohio. Started working at 16YO. He was able to put together financing for a refinery and built that into the biggest business empire the world has ever seen.
I think that has to be admired. He was also a religious man and tithed to his church. More than can be said of the Titans of Industry in the modern era.
I did a search for price gouging and found that under JDR the price of Kerosine went down while the quality went up. Also oil prices to the consumer declined during the period that Standard Oil had the most control over the market.
I'm not sure what your point on scarcity is. Standard Oil was broken up in 1911, effectively taking total control out of JDR's hands. He died in 1937. The "clan's" power has been diluted as the years go by. My friends with a conspiratorial bent were always afraid of David Rockefeller and the Trilateral commission. But he's dead now and the trilateral commission has been replaced by the WEF.