Robber Baron

Robber Baron is a socially disparaging term used to classify the US's prominent industrialists of the 19th century. Mark Twain called it the Gilded Age. These businessmen used unethical means to exploit labor and did not heed to their needs. These tycoons targeted lucrative sectors like oil, textile, liquor, steel, and railroads.

Parallels have been made between 19^th-century Robber Barons and 21^st-century business owners. Likewise, in the world of technology and finance, the ethics of the algorithms are compared to the 19^th-century era.

• Robber Baron is a term used for the business tycoons of the USA during the nineteenth century. This period was also known as the gilded age.
• In order to maximize their profits, these businessmen would exploit labor and use unethical means.
• Some of the popular barons include Henry Ford, James J Hill, James Fisk, and John Jacob Astor.
• Parallels are drawn between 19th-century barons and 21st-century tech giants.
• Barons heavily contributed towards the upliftment of society.

Robber Barons had a different kind of monopoly over businesses. This monopoly in the Nineteenth-century United States was forced. Businessmen used ways that are considered illegal today these included labor exploitation, violence, fraud, coercion, undue influence, and corruption. 

These Barons also did significant philanthropic work. Andrew Carnegie donated around $350 million to charity during the course of his life. He donated $56 million to build 2500 public libraries around the world. This is why their questionable business practices exploiting labor were overlooked. Instead, these industrialists were celebrated business idols responsible for the growth of the national economy.

Many even preferred working for some of these barons owing to excessive remuneration, paid vacations, and hefty bonuses. Rockefeller and Henry Ford had a reputation for paying well above industry standards.

These Barons changed the face of entrepreneurship. But, unfortunately, some used unfair means, some relied on political connections, while others resorted to fraud. Prominent Robber Baron examples are as follows.

#1 - Andrew Carnegie

• This is a perfect example of the rags to riches narrative. He was a self-taught, self-made billionaire. His family migrated from Scotland to the United States with no wealth. But by the end of the Gilded age, Andrew became the poster child of entrepreneurship. He was smart and placed heavy bets on the steel industry as railways in the US was about to rise. He made a fortune using his shrewd business acumen and political connections. 
• He was solely responsible for the massive expansion of the steel industry. Apart from being a skilled businessman, he was a leading philanthropist. He heavily donated to charities across the globe.

#2 - John D Rockefeller

• Once bagged the title of 'richest person in the world, Rockefeller is a typical example of a Robber Baron. He was responsible for monopolizing the US's oil industry. John colluded with the railroad companies and gradually pushed away other players in the oil industry. He used hefty shipping costs as leverage. By the end of 1890, he controlled 90% of the entire US oil production.
• His net worth in 2018 was estimated to be over $400 billion. Additionally, he was one of leading the philanthropists. During the course of his life, he ended up donating over $500 million. The philanthropist narrative outshone his reputation for unfair and unethical means. 

#3 - Henry Ford

• This was known for establishing lenient working conditions for his employees. He reduced a six-day workweek structure of 10 hours into a five-day workweek structure of 8 hours. He was excessively generous with employee remunerations.
• The then industry standards for the auto-market dictated $2.5 per day. Yet Henry paid as high as $5 for a day. In addition, he donated a significant share of his wealth to charity. He donated $14 million to Henry Ford Hospital treating the underprivileged.

Robber Barons cannot be boxed into either category. Without a doubt, they used unethical and deceitful means to achieve what they achieved. But in doing so, they also created massive employment advancing the nation's economy.

Some, like Ford, were extremely generous to the workers. These barons donated a massive amount to charity. Philanthropy is clearly in the public's interest.

Perhaps good deeds done do not absolve them from unfair practices. They pushed out many smaller businesses and traders. Barron's monopoly was achieved on the backs of those shady tactics. They formed consortiums and drove competitors away. The revolutionized US economy came at a high cost.

Robber Barons were often termed captains of the industry because they drove the US economy upwards and took it to newer heights. The term captain of the industry refers to trailblazers in commerce for significant economic growth. The Barons versus Captains of the Industry debate revolves around the business ethics in the contemporary era. It weights economic growth against its cost or possible downsides. The Barons were highly celebrated icons in the public eye for boosting the economy and incessant charity despite debatable business ethics.

Similarly, some 21st-century tech giants are also referred to as robber barons. These business owners have been criticized for harming the society and environment in the name to technological advancements. The Guardian reports that the messiah of technological advancements, Elon Musk, was recently called a robber baron. A Twitter user called Elon names. He has been criticized for harming the environment in the name of the SpaceX rocket science project.

Reuters reported Google violating serious laws. Google claimed that they were abiding by all the federal laws but later admitted otherwise. Google paid $500 million in fines after being convicted of the violations. Even in 2011, Google faced some serious accusations. There is no human, who is aware of the internet and hasn't heard of Google. Name any industry, and the chances are that Google directly or indirectly holds some stake in it.

This has been a guide to What is Robber Baron and its Definition. Here we discuss if the if they are good or bad along with examples. You may also have a look at the following articles to learn more –

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