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

Even in the triumph of the worst, which is the age of robber barons and the age of rapacious capitalism and imperialism, even those things were being contested.

From Salon • Apr. 4, 2025

For anyone fascinated by great estates, robber barons, generational wealth or just human psychology, the tour is a chance to see territory that’s been off-limits for decades.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 27, 2024

The results have been mixed, as the agencies seek to apply laws enacted to combat 19th-century oil and railroad robber barons to 21st-century technology firms.

From New York Times • May 1, 2024

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

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand