User blog comment:Pawn of Atlas/Important Discussion for Rapture Storyline page/@comment-75.36.142.227-20140329223049/@comment-75.36.142.199-20140330102623

The City 'nationalized' it (that statement was by someone (McDonagh ?) who might not have used the right verbage)  seizing it from a criminal operation/ownership and since most of Fontaines businesses were built with profits from the Smuggling (and countless other crimes that were likely being uncovered). no 'heirs' wer to be found. Ryan was assigned to run it - convenient, but who else might have been able to keep it running IMMEDIATELY with the addiction problem making that critical. Ryan himself says (in some in-game statement) that is probably a temporary contingency and since he dies before the Civil; War is over we will never know (they laid the 'evil' Ryan mud on so thick they probably didnt want to have an audio diary eleborating on Ryan's plans for rebuilding Rapture once Atlas was gone, to 'confuse' things)