plutocracy

American  

[ploo-tok-ruh-see] / pluˈtɒk rə si /

noun

plutocracies plural

1. the rule or power of wealth or of the wealthy.

2. a government or state in which the wealthy class rules.

3. a class or group ruling, or exercising power or influence, by virtue of its wealth.

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plutocracy British  

/ ˌpluːtəˈkrætɪk, pluːˈtɒkrəsɪ /

noun

1. the rule or control of society by the wealthy

2. a state or government characterized by the rule of the wealthy

3. a class that exercises power by virtue of its wealth

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plutocracy Cultural  

1. Government by the rich. The term is usually one of reproach.

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Usage

What does plutocracy mean? Plutocracy is a term for a government in which wealthy people use their wealth to rule. This can mean that wealthy people are the actual leaders, or that they influence or control the decisions that the leaders make. Plutocracy is never used as an official term for a form of government (like democracy is, for example)—it’s almost always applied as a criticism of such situations. It is frequently used as a way of pointing out inequality and the powerful influence of the wealthy in politics and government. A country that is thought to have a plutocratic government can also be referred to as a plutocracy, as in Many outsiders saw the nation as an oppressive plutocracy. Plutocracy can also refer to the power that this kind of wealth can allow, as in His latest column explains his belief that the government has been corrupted by plutocracy. It can also refer to the wealthy class that is using wealth to rule, as in The businessman was accused of being a member of the plutocracy. A wealthy person who rules or influences leaders in a plutocracy can be called a plutocrat. Example: Average citizens are angry because they believe billionaires have turned the government into a plutocracy to benefit themselves.

Other Word Forms

• plutocratic
  adjective
• plutocratically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of plutocracy

1645–55; < Greek ploutokratía, equivalent to ploûto ( s ) wealth + -kratia -cracy

Explanation

In a plutocracy, the people are ruled by the wealthy few. A plutocracy is very different from a democracy, in which each person's vote, regardless of their wealth, counts equally. Whenever you see the suffix -cracy, you know you're dealing with a form of rule or government. The first part of the word comes from the Greek ploutos, meaning "wealth." Put them together, and you get plutocracy, a government ruled by the rich. How does this differ from, say, an aristocracy? Well, the truth is that the two terms are not very different. Members of the aristocracy tend to be rich, but their money tends to be "old money." In a pure plutocracy, even the overnight billionaire can be a ruler.

Example Sentences

Obnoxious as he is, he also serves as a road map for how these nobodies might find their way to the champagne-on-yachts plutocracy.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

In the early 2000s, the court came close, as justices like David Souter recognized the risks of plutocracy.

From Slate • Jan. 28, 2026

America thus "inherited plutocracy as part of its 'cultural genotype,'" Turchin argues.

From Salon • Jul. 2, 2023

It probably helped that by the time Cooper fils came of age, the Vanderbilt fortune, once among the greatest in American plutocracy, had pretty much gone pfft.

From Washington Post • Sep. 23, 2021

For feudal magnates and the nouveaux riches he had scant respect, holding that both the aristocracy and the plutocracy had used their political power for selfish ends.

From War Letters of a Public-School Boy by Jones, Henry Paul Mainwaring