Because back in the early days you could get one just by asking and they did? The internet was just a research project to connect some universities, government

Because back in the early days you could get one just by asking and they did? The internet was just a research project to connect some universities, government sites, and a handful of companies. No one realized where it was going. By the time it was clear the IPv4 address space would be exhausted it was also clear reclaiming those IP blocks (for which there is no legal basis) would merely temporarily delay the exhaustion - likely by a year or two at best.