Real Life Monopoly Examples
                     Real Life Monopoly Examples
Economics is such a dynamic and comprehensive discipline that proposing a new 
business practice can shake up the entire economic model of a nation, especially in 
a capitalist community. Although the free market is generally a positive aspect for 
both the companies and customers, it can promote unethical practices like 
monopoly.

What is Monopoly?
When we think of the term ‘Monopoly’, the popular board game comes to mind; 
however, monopoly is not just limited to the living room. A monopoly is deemed as an 
exclusive control of an industry by a single entity. This leads to the company gaining 
control over the economic fundamentals like production, supply, and trade of goods 
and services within an industry. Unexpectedly, monopolies grant significant benefits 
to the company; however, they simultaneously make consumers lose their interest in 
the same company because of a lack of competition. Interestingly, even if a company 
controls 30% of the market, it can be considered a monopoly. Usually, monopolies 
surface in one of the two ways, i.e., a larger company strategically conducting 
business to make small businesses shut down or two rivals merging together, 
eliminating any competition. The etymology of monopoly is of Latin origins from the 
word ‘monopolium’, meaning the right of exclusive sale.
Monopoly Examples in Real Life
1. Standard Oil
This company was established by John D. Rockefeller, also considered the 
wealthiest American of all time. He established this company in 1870 in Cleveland, 
Ohio. Since the oil industry is a huge business in the United States, it is safe to 
think that there would be various competitors in this industry; however, Standard 
Oil quickly made other companies shut down or go bankrupt, 22 companies of 26 
to be exact. Just two years after its incorporation, major oil refineries in Ohio were 
acquired by Standard Oil. The reign of Standard Oil was immense in the early 20th 
century, as it controlled 90% of the oil market in the United States. With such 
profits, Standard Oil led John D. Rockefeller to become the world’s first billionaire. 
Finally, in 1911, the monopoly of Standard Oil was brought to an end by the 
Supreme Court of the United States ordering Standard Oil to divide itself into 34 
different companies. Eventually, these companies merged with others, introducing 
the present-day oil companies of the United States.
2. Carnegie Steel Company
Carnegie Steel Company was the Standard Oil of the steel industry because it 
controlled nearly 80% of the steel market. It was established by Andrew 
Carnegie in 1892. Interestingly, this was not the first company established by 
Andrew Carnegie, as the Edgar Thomson Steel Works, a company that mostly 
supplied steel to the railways, was also established by him in 1872. Carnegie’s 
business model was to take over the suppliers of raw materials, then, produce in 
such large quantities that competitors cannot keep up. This proved to be highly 
successful, resulting in Carnegie Steel Company controlling 70% of the entire 
steel production in the United States. Another reason behind the success of the 
company was its clients’ trust in its steel, as Andrew Carnegie had also 
marketed the quality of its steel in 1893 by setting an example. Using his 
company’s steel, he erected the Carnegie Building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 
which was among the earliest skyscrapers in Pittsburgh. As one can expect, 
after controlling the market to such an extent, the company was accused of 
being a monopoly. 
Carnegie Steel Company
3. Luxottica
Even if you are not a fan of expensive sunglasses, you must have heard the 
name of Ray-Ban. This, along with other luxury brands like Prada, Ralph 
Lauren, Versace, Armani Exchange, Chanel, Oliver Peoples, Bulgari, and 
Burberry rely on the production of their sunglasses by Luxottica, an Italian 
eyewear company. Interestingly, the mentioned brands are only a few of its 
clients, which goes to show the sheer control of Luxottica on the eyewear 
market. Presently, 80% of the eyewear brands rely on Luxottica to design and 
manufacture glasses for them. It was established by Leonardo Del Vecchio, an 
Italian businessman, in 1961. While the company was generating nearly $20 
billion annually, it merged with Essilor, a French corrective lenses company, in 
2017, resulting in $70 billion in annual revenue. This merger gave birth to 
EssilorLuxottica, and this new company accounts for one-quarter of eyewear 
sales worldwide. Undoubtedly, competitors have accused the company of being 
a monopoly; however, nothing has come out of it so far.
4. Google
Once a company becomes synonymous with its intended purpose, its competitors 
are bound to shrink significantly. This is the case with Google. The act of 
searching for something on the internet is often called googling because of the 
extensive usage of this search engine. It was established by two computer 
scientists, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in 1998. Although Google has humble 
beginnings, it is presently one of the largest, if not the largest, technology 
company in the world. Google offers tech solutions for every need, from 
entertainment to productivity to fitness, with services like YouTube, Gmail, and 
Fitbit, respectively. Once a company expands to such a size as Google, it is 
inevitable to find it on the news for unethical practices. For instance, Google has 
been accused of stealing data from its users, and even signing an agreement with 
Apple to eliminate any competition. The monopoly of Google is quite evident with 
90% of global internet searches being carried out by it. While Google claims to 
never suppress competition, people don’t trust its business practices. To read 
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