The semiconductor monopoly: How one Dutch company has a stranglehold over the global chip industry

When we speak of monopolies in the economic sense, the one word that comes to mind if OPEC, or the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. This is an organisation consisting established by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela, countries that were once the biggest exporters of crude oil. The formation of OPEC allowed these countries to essentially set the rules and more importantly, prices at which crude oil will be sold to other countries. It was, and continues to be a monopoly in the truest sense of the word. However, as powerful and all-encompassing OPEC is, they do…