The History of the Standard Oil Company or influence. These reactions are immortalized in political cartoons utilizing imagery of Rockefeller's hidden agendas being demolished by investigative journalism and muckraking. Several journal and newspaper reviewers addressed "The History of Standard Oil Company" by praising its calmness in the face of hatred, focus on facts, and genuine exposure of the effects that greed can have on businessmen seeking success. A 1904 editorial review from the New York Times relayed the highlights of the volumes to the public, noting the diplomatic tendencies of Tarbell within her work - still widely respectful of the achievements of John D. Rockefeller but critical
Standard Oil an innovator in the development of the business trust. The Standard Oil trust streamlined production and logistics, lowered costs, and undercut competitors. "Trust-busting" critics accused Standard Oil of using aggressive pricing to destroy competitors and form a monopoly that threatened other businesses. Rockefeller ran the company as its chairman, until his retirement in 1897. He remained the major shareholder, and in 1911, with the dissolution of the Standard Oil trust into 34 smaller companies, Rockefeller became the richest man in the world, as the initial income of these individual enterprises proved to be much bigger than that of a single