The Standard Oil Trust Split
After years of litigation and being vilified in the press, which resulted in various re-organizations of the Standard Oil Companies, in 1911, the United States Supreme Court professed Standard Oil of New Jersey to be contrary to the Sherman Antitrust Act. The Standard Oil Company was split up into over thirty separate companies, many of them are still recognized today. Continental Oil became Conoco, and Standard Oil of California is now known as Chevron.
John D. Rockefeller Sr. and others outside of a New York Courthouse avoiding the press circa 1910. Photo by Courtesy Everett Collection / Shutterstock
Standard Oil of New York was called Socony (later Mobil), and the former Standard Oil of New Jersey became Esso (later Exxon and eventually, ExxonMobil). Rockefeller held shares in each of these new companies, and in addition to his shares in Standard Oil Trust (before its breakup), his fortune increased even more.