A robber baron is a term used to describe certain wealthy and powerful 19th-century American businessmen who were accused of using exploitative practices to amass their wealth. These practices included:
- Exerting control over natural resources
- Influencing high levels of government
- Paying subsistence wages
- Squashing competition by acquiring their competitors to create monopolies and raise prices
- Schemes to sell stock at inflated prices to unsuspecting investors
The term combines the sense of criminal ("robber") and illegitimate aristocracy (a baron is an illegitimate role in a republic). Robber barons were often associated with the Gilded Age, a period of rapid economic growth in the United States characterized by wealth inequality and questionable business practices.
In addition to the 19th-century context, the term robber baron is sometimes used to describe any successful businessperson whose practices are considered unethical or unscrupulous. This behavior can include employee or environmental abuse, stock market manipulation, or deliberately restricting output to charge higher prices.
