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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

And of course, Disney keeps mining "Star Wars" and Marvel like a robber baron.

From Salon • Jun. 13, 2022

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

Rather did he suggest the present-day atavism of some robber baron of the Middle Ages, whose hectoring speech bubbled forth from a stout heart.

From The Stowaway Girl by Tracy, Louis



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