24. By 1882 Rockefeller’s business empire was staggering in its scope
The newly formed Standard Oil Trust, comprised of 41 companies, was huge. It controlled 20,000 oil wells in the United States, shipping its products through pipelines which exceeded 4,000 miles in length, all owned by the company. It also circumvented rentals on railroad equipment through its ownership of 5,000 tanker cars, as well as a fleet of boxcars, hoppers, and private passenger cars for the use of its executives. At its peak it was responsible for 90% of the refined petroleum products across the globe, a number which began to slowly decrease throughout the 1880s and 1890s, until it bottomed at about 80% at the turn of the 20th century. The slide was due to Rockefeller’s increasing awareness of the hostility his dominance of the oil market was causing, and his steps to alter the public perception of his company.