plutocrat

[ ploo-tuh-krat ]

noun

1. a member of a plutocracy.

plutocrat

/ ˈpluːtəˌkræt /

noun

1. a member of a plutocracy

Word History and Origins

Origin of plutocrat¹

First recorded in 1840–50; pluto(cracy) + -crat

Example Sentences

Since then in the real world, we’ve watched billionaires cover up sex scandals, sulkily testify in front of congress, and launch rockets into space—but those plutocrats don’t ruin the world with quite as much style as the Roy family.

From Time

He set about ticking the boxes required of any self-respecting plutocrat enthusiastically.

From The Daily Beast

Another paranoid plutocrat compares Democrats to Hitler, betraying his utter ignorance about Hitler.

From The Daily Beast

Kennedy had hardly been a standout student, but his financial acumen had transformed him into a fellow plutocrat.

From The Daily Beast

Plutocrat sweethearts Dagny Taggart and Hank Rearden join the movement as the masses clamor for revolution.

From The Daily Beast

This was the corporations-are-people Romney, who seems like a plutocrat even as he tries to strike an average-guy tone.

From The Daily Beast

The plutocrat of the unhappy tribe of Hue and Cry rose and stretched with a comfortable grunt.

From Project Gutenberg

Miss Inglis, late of Mallowfield Hall, was not to be put down by a vulgar plutocrat.

From Project Gutenberg

It is different with women; but a male bookkeeper can dress nearly as well, if not so variously, as a plutocrat.

From Project Gutenberg

This was the grandson of the original Moggs, and a very typical instance of an educated, cultivated, degenerate plutocrat.

From Project Gutenberg

He will retire from politics, from head-hunting among the plutocrats, and will soon be a plutocrat and a palace-dweller himself.

From Project Gutenberg

More About Plutocrat

What is a plutocrat?

A plutocrat is a wealthy person who rules or influences leaders in a plutocracy—a government in which wealthy people use their wealth to rule.

In a plutocracy, the plutocrats may be the actual leaders, or they may 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. Plutocrat is used in the same way.

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. 

The term plutocrat can refer to a person who’s a part of a plutocracy in any of the senses of the word.

Example: Average citizens are angry because they believe billionaires have turned the government into a plutocracy to benefit themselves and their fellow plutocrats.

Where does plutocrat come from?

The first records of the word plutocrat come from the 1800s. It ultimately comes from the Greek ploutokratía. The first part of the word comes from ploûto(s), meaning “wealth.” (The name of the god Pluto of Greek mythology—for whom the dwarf planet is named—comes from the related Greek Ploutōn, meaning “the rich one.”) The suffix -crat means “ruler” and is used in terms like bureaucrat and autocrat.

Plutocrats are the rich people who rule with their wealth. The term does not imply a specific political doctrine or philosophy. Instead, it’s often used to imply that such a system leads to corruption and oppression—no matter what the official form of government is or what the specific politics of its leaders are.

Plutocrat is often used alongside other critical terms for members of other forms of government thought to be corrupt or unjust, such as oligarch (one of a small group of people who hold power) and autocrat (a ruler with unlimited power).

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to plutocrat?

• plutocracy (noun)
• plutocratic (adjective)
• plutocratical (adjective)
• plutocratically (adverb)

What are some words that share a root or word element with plutocrat? 

• democrat
• autocrat
• bureaucrat
• theocrat
• aristocrat

What are some words that often get used in discussing plutocrat?

• wealth
• rich
• government
• power
• corruption
• big business
• bribery
• oppression
• poverty

How is plutocrat used in real life?

Plutocrat is almost always used in a critical way. It usually implies that such people run governments that are corrupt and oppressive.

Part of the problem is that the most influential voices are people for whom the status quo has worked out well. Celebrities. Politicians. Pundits. Plutocrats. Meanwhile those who've been crushed by existing systems are voiceless. This creates the illusion that those systems work.

— Caitlin Johnstone ⏳ (@caitoz) September 16, 2020

"There is no conflict between climate mitigation and economic growth, only between the interests of reactionary plutocrats and those of the general public. The 'green dream (or whatever)' is thus eminently realizable." https://t.co/d2NucsuNNw

— David Wallace-Wells (@dwallacewells) September 24, 2020

We’re such an exceptional nation that the poor, working poor and the middle class workers pay the taxes that plutocrats don’t pay. Then the plutocrats are allowed to legally bribe politicians in form of campaign contributions so that they can screw the rest of us. #Unsustainable

— George#DTNotMyPrez (@Numbers28) September 28, 2020

 

 

Try using plutocrat!

True or False?

A plutocrat is a religious leader who rules a country.