29.  Robber Barons or Captains of Industry (19^th century)- During the American Industrial Revolution, a robber baron (which is an insulting term entailing that a person used unfair business practices and showed little sensitivity to the common worker) was someone who would do anything to get rich at the expense of the competitors. They typically opposed unions, and their money was often made off of the suffering masses. Excess amounts of money helped to divert media attention since their business practices were shady and the leaders themselves were viewed as ruthless. Some well-known robber barons are Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and John D. Rockefeller. Many robber barons actually gave significant money to charity—in New York City, buildings like Rockefeller Center and Carnegie Hall were built through contributions of the Rockefeller and Carnegie families. The different field of business tycoons, the Captains of Industry, made their industries more efficient, set fair prices for their products, but also made huge sums of money, more so for the economy than themselves, however. They greatly helped America become more efficient due to their competitive nature and their ability to combine resources. Today we call these Robber Barons and Captains of Industry "billionaires”. Robber Barons and Captains of Industry helped shift the United States to industrialization. Anne Theil

Sources:

 http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/econ_articles/carnegie/delong_moscow_paper2.html

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/583631/the_rise_of_big_business_in_america_pg2.html?cat=3

I commented on:

Cornelius Vanderbilt (sixth) 

Haymarket riot (first)

William Graham Sumner (fourth)

This shows the similarity between medieval barons who collected goods from peasants and Robber Barons of Industrial America creating a monopoly with other businesses (their money goes to the Robber Barons).