Business magnate
From Free net encyclopedia
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a mogul or a tycoon, is a person who controls a large portion of a particular industry and whose wealth derives primarily from said control.
Examples of well-known business magnates include newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst of the Hearst Corporation, oil magnate John D. Rockefeller of Standard Oil and steel magnate Andrew Carnegie of US Steel.
In Russia and some other post-Soviet countries, the term "business oligarch" became popular.
Etymology
The word tycoon is derived from the Japanese word taikun. The literal meaning is "great lord" and was historically used to imply to foreigners visiting Japan that the Shogun was supreme ruler of the country. The word entered the English Language in the 19th Century with the return of Commodore Perry to the United States. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was humorously referred to as "the Tycoon" by his aides John Nicolay and John Hay. The term spread to the business community, where it has been used ever since.
The word mogul originally meant Mongol, or person of Mongolian descent. In this context, it refers to the Mughal Empire (mughal is the Indo-Aryan spelling of mogul) of India that existed between 1526-1857. The early emperors of Mughal claimed themselves descendants of Mongol ruler Genghis Khan and adopted a Mongolian identity. The modern meaning of the word is supposedly derived from the excessive riches of the Mughal emperors, which for example produced the Taj Mahal.
Notable magnates
- From the real world:
- Roman Abramovich
- Silvio Berlusconi
- The Big Four: Leland Stanford, Collis Huntington, Charles Crocker and Mark Hopkins of the First Transcontinental Railroad
- Conrad Black
- Warren Buffett
- Andrew Carnegie
- Powell Crosley
- Henry Morrison Flagler
- Bill Gates
- William Randolph Hearst
- James J. Hill
- Rupert Murdoch
- Aristotle Onassis
- T. Boone Pickens
- Cecil Rhodes
- John D. Rockefeller
- Ivan Stedeford
- Donald Trump
- Fictional (stories):
See also
- Articles
- Local Baron (in Romania)
- Robber barons
- Business oligarchs, for business magnates of Russia and Ukraine
- Media proprietor
- Categories