Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.

Now loathed among oil producers in northwest Pennsylvania, Rockefeller stops traveling to the Oil Regions. Instead, he embarks on “an unrelenting campaign of national consolidation” (161). He takes advantage of the 1873 financial panic to buy up rivals’ refineries at discount prices. In many cases, however, Rockefeller uses gentler tactics. He nearly always maintains existing management teams in the companies he purchases, and in some cases he overpays simply for the purpose of turning a competitor into a collaborator. In one instance, he invites a Pittsburgh refiner to take a close look at the Standard Oil books, and the result is a sale that allows Rockefeller to become that industrial city’s major refiner. In “lightning offensives” (164), Rockefeller swoops in on Philadelphia and New York refiners as well.

During this time, Rockefeller brings into the Standard Oil fold two of its former enemies, Henry H. Rogers and John D. Archbold, both of whom will emerge as major figures in the trust’s future leadership; Archbold, in fact, will eventually succeed Rockefeller as head of day-to-day operations. Significantly, when Rockefeller purchases existing refineries, he offers payment in cash or Standard Oil stock.