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robber baron

NOUN
industrialist made wealthy through unethical means
Synonyms


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.

As early as 1859 the New York Times associated Cornelius Vanderbilt with the idea of the medieval robber baron, thus tarnishing the image of the country’s biggest shipowner.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 10, 2026

Government and private money are flowing in quantities that would make a Gilded Age robber baron blush.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 23, 2025

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

Bob Maitland must have been, they argued, a reversion to an ancient type, a throwback to some robber baron long antecedent to William Penn. And the speculation was true.

From The Chalice Of Courage A Romance of Colorado by Brady, Cyrus Townsend



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