The Robber Barons

Robber Barons, a term used in the late 1800s and early 1900s to describe a businessman who made an enormous amount of money, today we would call them billionaires. It was not really the fact they made an extreme amount of wealth, it was more the way they made it. In all the cases the acquiring of wealth was done in what was considered a ruthless manor and unscrupulous ways. A robber baron was more interested in acquiring wealth than the safety of his employees, the amount of work hours performed in a week, or the amount of wage being paid for a days work.

For example Andrew Carnegie(the robber baron of the steel industry), he was instrumental in starting the 72 hour work week, paying out less than fair wages and having dangerous working conditions.

The robber barons were known for their business tactics that would enable them to amass a wealth by monopolies. They would corner the market on a product or service and make it almost impossible to get, accept through them.

One such person was James B. Duke (robber baron of the tobacco market).James Duke started marketing tobacco from his fathers tobacco farm at an early age. He developed a market for tobacco though a

The other side to the Robber Baron coin. For some unknown reason the Robber Barons felt it necessary to give back enormous amounts of their wealth to the society they took if from, or maybe a better way to put it is earned it from? It was done in a manner that for the most part immortalized the giver. For instance James Duke or the Duke Endowment gave money to several Universities. This in turn eventually got his name on one, Duke University in Washington, DC. Duke also gave money to hospitals, childcare institutions for blacks and whites and the Methodist church.

http://www.businessweek.com/1998/03/b3561030.htm

Now if we were to take a look at Bill Gates who has been accredited as being the richest man in the world today, we would not see a lot of giving back to the community. Gates has had...