robber baron
Americannoun
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History/Historical. a noble who robbed travelers passing through his lands.
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a ruthlessly powerful U.S. capitalist or industrialist of the late 19th century considered to have become wealthy by exploiting natural resources, corrupting legislators, or other unethical means.
Etymology
Origin of robber baron
First recorded in 1875–80
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Government and private money are flowing in quantities that would make a Gilded Age robber baron blush.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 23, 2025
A notorious strikebreaker noted for paying his workers abysmally low wages, the complicated robber baron also publicly supported progressive tax laws, including estate taxes.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 6, 2023
Mr. Gates became interested in immunizations in the late 1990s, when Microsoft was facing an antitrust case that cast him as a modern-day robber baron.
From New York Times • Nov. 23, 2020
Back in the days before SATs and admissions scandals, that school was founded and funded by John D. Rockefeller, the classic robber baron of Standard Oil.
From Salon • Apr. 19, 2019
The robber baron, Sir Jacobus Kloon, swiped, — as Froissart has it, — the Esthonian gems, and under agreement to deliver them to you, I suppose, thought better of it and attempted to abscond.
From The Flaming Jewel by Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
