William Edward Boeing Quotes
Sir, I did not create a monopoly. Nor did I cheat anyone. I simply had the foresight to bid low and take a loss the first couple of years, with a long view in mind. The only thing I am guilty of is running a successful company.
Boeing had the foresight to invest in the concept of Air Mail by bidding low at the beginning, becoming the best in the nation, and then raising prices when no one else can compete—a technique called “buying in”. However, he was so successful that he soon had a monopoly on all the airmail in the country. Each new airmail contract would require more and more capability and Boeing used the existing contracts to finance the R&D and training of manpower to present a better and better service. Soon, no other company could compete at any price. Boeing indeed had a monopoly but each step of the building of it he did at the request of the government or was the low bidder and saved the taxpayer money. The airmail contracts were canceled and air service was nationalized. William Boeing was so disgusted by the way he was treated in the Congressional Hearings, that he sold his interest in the Boeing Company and would have nothing to do with making planes or providing services to the government thereafter.
William Edward Boeing, 1881–1956 Founder & President of Boeing Aircraft Company, Testimony, Congressional Hearings on Airmail service, 1934
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
This is an important quotation because Ellison, one of the best businessmen in the world is also much more candid than most others. Here he admits that he strives to achieve monopoly status for his company. Almost all large businesses try to become monopolies so that they do not have to compete on price, quality, and service. Few will admit publicly that much of their effort goes towards an objective that is detrimental to the nation and society and in is in large part illegal.
William Edward Boeing was an American aviation pioneer who founded The Boeing Company in 1916.
