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De Beers ships a large portion of its rough diamond supply to London, where they are graded, catalogued, and sorted. Department of Justice sued Standard Oil for its monopoly, citing both discriminatory and unfair practices as two of the sources of its power.ĭe Beers has control over most of the diamond mines in South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana, and it purchases and stockpiles its supply of rough diamonds so that it can charge very high prices as the primary supplier of diamonds in the industry.
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In 1909, Standard Oil’s reign and domination began to tumble down. The company’s control of oil production rose to 91 percent by the turn of the century, as it engaged in what were later deemed unfair business practices to prevent other companies from entering the oil market. Rockefeller in 1882, and by 1890, Standard Oil controlled 88 percent of all refined oil production, refinement, transportation, and marking in the U.S. The following are examples of monopoly markets that existed in the past, and two examples that are still going strong to this day. These circumstances are known as “barriers to entry.” Monopoly ExamplesĪlthough steps have been taken in many countries to prevent monopolies from forming, they still have a foothold in many situations. A monopoly becomes powerful when circumstances exist that either prevent, or severely obstruct, a potential competitor’s ability to function in the same market. A monopoly is different from a monopsony, which refers to a market in which there is just one buyer of a product or service, making it impossible for others to obtain it.