USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -robber baron, pejorative term for one of the powerful 19th-century American industrialists and financiers who made fortunes by monopolizing huge industries through the formation of trusts, engaging in unethical business practices, exploiting workers, and paying little heed to their customers or competition.

Detailed explanation-2: -"Robber baron” is a term used frequently in the 19th century during America’s Gilded Age to describe successful industrialists whose business practices were often considered ruthless or unethical. Included in the list of so-called robber barons are Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and John D. Rockefeller.

Detailed explanation-3: -The term “robber baron” dates back to the Middle Ages and carries a negative connotation. Robber barons typically employed ethically questionable methods to eliminate their competition and develop a monopoly in their industry. Often, they had little empathy for workers.

Detailed explanation-4: -Robber barons took over industries such as railroads, banks, steel, cotton, oil, tobacco and liquor. To monopolize these industries, they would use tactics such as creating trusts, exploiting workers, and disregarding customers or competition.

Detailed explanation-5: -Cornelius Vanderbilt He was the first person to be called robber baron, in an article in “The New York Times” on February 9, 1859. Vanderbilt worked his way up through the shipping industry before going into business for himself, becoming one of America’s biggest steamship operators.