Who became the head of Standard Oil after Rockefeller's retirement?

• A. Henry M. Flagler
• B. Marcus Samuel
• C. John Archbold
• D. Everette Lee DeGolyer

Answer: (C)

When a founder steps back from day-to-day leadership, the company often looks to a trusted executive who has run operations closely with them. In Standard Oil’s case, that trusted figure was John Archbold, who had been a key lieutenant and overseer of the company’s vast operations. After Rockefeller retired from active management, Archbold took on the top role, preserving the centralized, aggressive strategy the trust was built on and guiding it through its later years.

Henry Flagler was a founder and major partner, but he did not become the head after Rockefeller’s retirement. Marcus Samuel is known for building Shell, not Standard Oil. Everette Lee DeGolyer was a later oilman and geologist, not a head of Standard Oil. So Archbold’s leadership is the best fit for who led Standard Oil after Rockefeller stepped back.