robber baron

Definitions

1. 1

   In Europe, an aristocrat who charged exorbitant fees or otherwise exacted money from…

   In Europe, an aristocrat who charged exorbitant fees or otherwise exacted money from people who journeyed across land or waterways which he controlled.

   • Men who made it a custom to travel the trail to Dawson, likened him to a robber baron, perched in his fortress and exacting toll from the caravans that used his ill-kept roads.
2. 2

   Especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries, a business tycoon who had great wealth…

   Especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries, a business tycoon who had great wealth and influence but whose methods were morally questionable and often unethical.

   • An early operator in the field, Ivy Lee, is reported to have changed the image of John D. Rockefeller from robber baron to philanthropic old gentleman who loved to play golf and hand out shiny coins to children.
   • When the robber barons emerged in the late nineteenth century as the first ultrarich Americans, they had no clear guide on how to build palatial homes, so they just copied the architecture of wealthy European families.

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