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The Way Forward

Deminpenn

(16,738 posts) Thu Feb 13, 2025, 03:31 PM Feb 13

Call them Robber Barons, not billionaires [View all]

To Americans "billionaire" simply means rich guy.

To Americans "oligarch" is something to do with Russia. The offshoot "broligarch" is merely a clever amalgamation.

But 'Robber Baron" is a term Americans understand as a bad, even evil, rich person. Really Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg are no different from Rockefeller, Carnegie, the RR tycoons and their ilk of the late 19th century.

Start referring to them as what they are both robbers and rich.

5 replies

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Call them Robber Barons, not billionaires [View all] Deminpenn Feb 13 OP

Yes to that Easterncedar Feb 13 #1

That's John Barron, Robber C_U_L8R Feb 13 #2

There is one difference between then and now... philanthropy. kysrsoze Feb 13 #3

That's true, but most of that philanthropy Deminpenn Feb 13 #5

Perfect DrMJG10 Feb 13 #4