Powerful nobles or wealthy and influential people who control important businesses or industries.
From Old French 'baron,' derived from Germanic 'baro' meaning 'man' or 'warrior.' Originally referred to feudal lords, and the term later expanded to any powerful businessman or industrialist.
The term 'robber baron' comes from actual robber barons—wealthy industrialists in the late 1800s who made fortunes by crushing competition and exploiting workers, basically acting like medieval bandits but with trains and steel mills instead of swords.
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