A business magnate is someone who has achieved great success and enormous wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a wealthy entrepreneur or investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or services are widely consumed. Such individuals may also be known as ''

barons Baron is a rank of nobility Nobility is a social class normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty and found in some societies that have a formal aristocracy (class), aristocracy. Nobility has often been an Estates of the ...

'', ''

captains of industry In the late 19th century, a captain of industry was a business leader whose means of amassing a personal fortune contributed positively to the country in some way. This may have been through increased productivity, expansion of markets, providing m ...

'', ''

czars

'', '' moguls'', ''

oligarchs Oligarch may refer to: Authority * Oligarch, a member of an oligarchy, a power structure where control resides in a small number of people * Oligarch (Kingdom of Hungary), late 13th–14th centuries * Business oligarch, businessmen who quickly acqu ...

'', ''

plutocrats A plutocracy ( el, πλοῦτος, ', 'wealth' and , ', 'power') or plutarchy is a society that is ruled or controlled by people of great wealth Wealth is the abundance (economics), abundance of Value (economics), valuable financial asse ...

'', '' taipans'', or ''tycoons''.

Etymology

The term ''

magnate A magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", is a noble or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities. In reference to the Middle Ages, the term is often used to distingui ...

'' derives from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language A classical language is a language A language is a structured system of communication Communication (from Latin ''communicare'', meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is "an appa ...

Latin

word ''magnates'' (plural of ''magnas''), meaning "great man" or "great nobleman". The term ''mogul'' is an English corruption of ''mughal'', Persian or Arabic for "Mongol". It alludes to emperors of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal, Mogul, or Moghul Empire was an early modern The early modern period of modern history Human history, or world history, is the narrative of Human, humanity's past. It is understood through archaeology, anthropology, ge ...

Medieval India Medieval India refers to a long period of the history of the Indian subcontinent between the "ancient period" and "modern period". It is usually regarded as running between the breakup of the Gupta Empire in the 6th century AD and the start o ...

, who possessed great power and storied riches capable of producing wonders of opulence such as the

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; , ), is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wi ...

. The term ''tycoon'' derives from the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan , image_flag = Flag of Japan.svg , alt_flag = Centered deep red circle on a white rectangle , image_coat = Imperial Seal of J ...

word , which means "great lord", used as a title for the ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the so ...

''. The word entered the English language in 1857 with the return of Commodore Perry to the United States. U.S. President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American statesman and lawyer who served as the 16th president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of governme ...

was humorously referred to as ''the Tycoon'' by his aides

John Nicolay John George Nicolay (February 26, 1832 – September 26, 1901) was a Germany, German-born United States of America, American author and diplomat who served as private secretary to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and later co-authored ''Abraham Linco ...

and

John Hay John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838July 1, 1905) was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. Beginning as a Secretary to the President of the United States, private secretary and assistant ...

. The term spread to the business community, where it has been used ever since.

Usage

Modern business magnates are entrepreneurs that amass on their own or wield substantial family fortunes in the process of building or running their own businesses. Some are widely known in connection with these entrepreneurial activities, others through highly-visible secondary pursuits such as

philanthropy Philanthropy consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of th ...

, political fundraising and campaign financing, and sports team ownership or sponsorship. The terms ''mogul'', ''tycoon'' and ''baron'' were often applied to late 19th and early 20th century

North America North America is a continent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continen ...

n business magnates in extractive industries such as

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occu ...

mining

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucks or flatcar#Skeleton car, s ...

logging

and

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil and oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid A liquid is a nearly incompressible In fluid mechanics or more generally continuum mechanics, incompressible flow (isochoric process, isoc ...

, transportation fields such as

shipping Freight transport is the physical process of transport Transport (commonly used in the U.K.), or transportation (used in the U.S.), is the Motion, movement of humans, animals and cargo, goods from one location to another. In other words ...

and

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transferring passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are located on tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prepared flat surface ...

s, manufacturing such as automaking and

steel Steel is an alloy An alloy is an admixture of metal A metal (from Ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appe ...

steel

making, in

banking A bank is a financial institution Financial institutions, otherwise known as banking institutions, are corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the State (polity), stat ...

banking

, as well as newspaper publishing. Their dominance was known as the

Second Industrial Revolution The Second Industrial Revolution, also known as the Technological Revolution, was a phase of rapid and from the late 19th century into the early 20th century. The , which ended in the middle of the 19th century, was punctuated by a slowdow ...

, the

Gilded Age In History of the United States, United States history, the Gilded Age was an era that occurred during the late 19th century, from the 1870s to about 1900. The Gilded Age was an era of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern United St ...

, or the Robber Baron Era. Examples of well-known business magnates in the western world include historical figures such as oilman

John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839May 23, 1937) was an American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the United States The United States of Am ...

, automobile pioneer

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist A business magnate is someone who has achieved great success and enormous wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically ...

, shipping and railroad veterans

Aristotle Onassis Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical Greece, Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Lyceum (Cl ...

Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877) was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into leadership positions in the inla ...

Leland Stanford Amasa Leland Stanford (March 9, 1824June 21, 1893) was an American industrialist and politician. A member of the Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties A political party is an organization that coordinat ...

Jay Gould Jays are several species In biology, a species is the basic unit of biological classification, classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organis ...

, and

James J. Hill

, steel innovator

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American Scottish Americans or Scots Americans (Scottish Gaelic language, Scottish Gaelic: ''Ameireaganaich Albannach''; sco, Scots-American) are Americans whose ancestry ...

, newspaper publisher

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, . His flamboyant methods of influen ...

, retail merchant

Sam Walton Samuel Moore Walton (March 29, 1918 – April 5, 1992) was an American businessman and entrepreneur best known for founding the retailers Walmart and Sam's Club. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. grew to be the world's largest corporation by revenue as we ...

, and banker

J. P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier An investor is a person that allocates capital with the expectation of a future financial return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this ...

. Contemporary industrial tycoons include e-commerce entrepreneur

Jeff Bezos Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ; né Jorgensen; born January 12, 1964) is an American entrepreneur, media proprietor A media proprietor, media mogul or media tycoon refers to a successful entrepreneur or businessperson who controls, through person ...

, investor

Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway () is an American multinational Multinational may ...

, computer programmer

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate A business magnate is someone who has achieved great success and enormous wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characterist ...

, technology innovator

Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (; February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American business magnate A business magnate is someone who has achieved great success and enormous wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term ch ...

, media proprietor

Sumner Redstone Sumner Murray Redstone ( Rothstein; May 27, 1923 – August 11, 2020) was an American billionaire businessman and media magnate. He was the founder and chairman of the second incarnation of ViacomViacom, an acronym of Video & Audio Communications ...

, steel investor

Lakshmi Mittal Lakshmi Niwas Mittal (; born 15 June 1950) is an India India (Hindi: ), officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous country, the ...

, telecommunications investor

Carlos Slim Carlos Slim Helú (; born January 28, 1940 in Mexico City) is a Mexican business magnate, investor and philanthropist. From 2010 to 2013, Slim was ranked as the richest person in the world by the ''Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American ...

, airline owner Sir

Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British business magnate, entrepreneur, investor, and author. In the 1970s he founded the Virgin Group, which today controls more than 400 companies in various fields. Branson expre ...

, technology entrepreneur

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk (; born June 28, 1971) is an entrepreneur and . He is the founder, CEO and Chief Engineer at ; early-stage investor, CEO and Product Architect of ; founder of ; and co-founder of and . With an estimated net worth of around ...

, Formula 1 manager

Bernie Ecclestone Bernard Charles Ecclestone (born 28 October 1930) is a British business magnate A business magnate is someone who has achieved great success and enormous wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristic ...

, media entrepreneur

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American billionaire businessman, media tycoon, and investor. Through his company News Corp The current incarnation of News Corporation, stylized as News Corp, is an Am ...

, and poultry technologist

Frank Perdue Franklin Parsons "Frank" Perdue (May 9, 1920 – March 31, 2005), born in Salisbury, Maryland, was for many years the president and CEO of Perdue Farms, now one of the largest chicken-producing companies in the United States. Background Fr ...

Business magnates

File:Cornelius Vanderbilt Daguerrotype2.jpg,

File:John D. Rockefeller 1885 140x190.jpg,

File:Andrew-carnegie-portrait-pd.png,

File:JohnPierpontMorgan.png,

File:Henry ford 1919.jpg,

File:Howard Hughes.jpg,

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American , investor, record-setting pilot, engineer, film director, and , known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and financially successful individuals in th ...

File:Sam-Walton.jpg,

File:Warren Buffett with Fisher College of Business Student - 4395161160 (cropped).jpg,

File:Bill Gates 2018.jpg,

File:Paul G. Allen (cropped).jpg,

Paul Allen Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American business magnate, computer programmer, researcher, investor, and philanthropist. He co-founded Microsoft, Microsoft Corporation with childhood friend Bill Gates in 19 ...

File:Steve Jobs Headshot 2010-CROP (cropped 2).jpg,

File:Larry Ellison picture.png,

Larry Ellison Lawrence Joseph Ellison (born August 17, 1944) is an American business magnate, investor who is a co-founder, the executive chairman and chief technology officer (CTO) of Oracle Corporation Oracle Corporation is an American Multinational ...

File:Jeff Bezos at Amazon Spheres Grand Opening in Seattle - 2018 (39074799225) (cropped).jpg,

File:Elon Musk 2015.jpg, alt=Elon Musk,

File:Mark Zuckerberg F8 2019 Keynote (32830578717) (cropped).jpg,

Mark Zuckerberg Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (; born ) is an American media magnate, internet entrepreneur, and Philanthropy, philanthropist. He is known for co-founding Meta Platforms, Meta Platforms, Inc. (formerly named Facebook, Inc.) and serves as its chairma ...

File:Larry Page in the European Parliament, 17.06.2009 (cropped).jpg,

Larry Page Lawrence Edward Page (born March 26, 1973) is an American computer scientist A computer scientist is a person who has acquired the knowledge of computer science Computer science deals with the theoretical foundations of information, a ...

File:Sergey Brin cropped.jpg,

Sergey Brin Sergey Mikhaylovich Brin (russian: Серге́й Миха́йлович Брин, tr. ''Sergéj Mixájlovič Brin''; born August 21, 1973) is an American computer scientist and Internet entrepreneur. Together with Larry Page Lawrence ...

File:Richard Branson March 2015 (cropped).jpg,

File:Rupert Murdoch 2011 Shankbone 3.JPG,

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Business Magnate

Management occupations Occupations relating to management. Business occupations Management, Occupations Positions of authority {{CatAutoTOC ...

Social classes

Etymology

Usage

Business magnates

See also

References

External links