Career
After law school, Marland returned to Pittsburgh where he started a private practice. Through his experiences as an attorney, he became interested in geology and entered the developing oil industry in Pennsylvania. He invested in new wells and companies and, by the age of 33, Marland had become a self-made millionaire.
That same year, Marland lost millions in the panic of 1907. By 1908, Marland was broke and without a job. Hoping to start their lives over, Marland and Virginia moved to the new state of Oklahoma. They settled in Ponca City, where he resumed his oil career.
He first founded the 101 Ranch Oil Company. Marland was successful in reestablishing his fortune and, by 1920, it was estimated at $85,000,000 (roughly $910,000,000 in modern dollars). That year he founded the Marland Oil Company in Ponca City (it was incorporated in Delaware on October 8, 1920) and served as its president. In 1928, the Marland Oil Company was taken over in a hostile bid process by J. P. Morgan, Jr. and was merged with Continental Oil and Transportation Company (CONOCO). Marland’s oil empire was destroyed and he was pushed out of the company. He lost all of his wealth for the second time.
Read more about this topic: E. W. Marland
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