influence peddler

noun

1. a person who arranges to obtain favors, as government contracts, from high officials on behalf of others for a fee.

Other Word Forms

• influence peddling noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of influence peddler¹

An Americanism dating back to 1945–50

Example Sentences

One thing that McCarthy is apparently not interested in, say several people who have spoken with him, is raking in big bucks an an influence peddler.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Some said he had become another influence peddler.

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“I’m just not a fixer or an influence peddler,” he said.

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“And less than 12 months later, I’m an influence peddler and a fat cat,” he said dryly.

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Some viewed Nader as an influence peddler; others said that he had been intimately involved in high-stakes negotiations in the Middle East for decades.

Read more on The New Yorker

Related Words

• fixer 
• kingmaker