robber barons

Cultural  

1. A term applied to certain leading American businessmen of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including Cornelius Vanderbilt and John D. Rockefeller. The term suggests that they acquired their wealth by means more often foul than fair.

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Example Sentences

This was the age of robber barons like John D. Rockefeller, whose Standard Oil was a business “trust” comprising dozens of companies in numerous vertically linked industries.

From Barron's • Jan. 13, 2026

But Cahokia is surrounded by American robber barons eager to destroy its hierarchy and appropriate its treasures.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 8, 2024

It had this governor named Bob LaFollette, who was nicknamed “Fighting Bob,” and he would crusade against the influence of the robber barons and the stranglehold of money in politics.

From Slate • Sep. 21, 2023

Like Mrs. Parish, who freshened up the Kennedy White House, and Mr. Hampton, who elevated the habitats of 1980s-era robber barons, Ms. Rheinstein brought an American freshness to English country style.

From New York Times • Mar. 31, 2023

The girls ran the place themselves, and they did so with the cunning of robber barons.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand