Definition
People who own capital or invest in business enterprises, or supporters of capitalism as an economic system.
Etymology
From Latin 'capitalis' meaning 'of the head,' referring to capital as the 'head' or principal sum of money. The term emerged in the 17th century as capitalism developed, distinguishing those who owned productive assets from laborers.
Kelly Says
The word 'capitalist' has become deeply politicized, functioning almost like a linguistic Rorschach test - it can mean innovative entrepreneur or exploitative profiteer depending on the speaker's perspective. This dual meaning reflects capitalism's complex role in modern society.
Translations
AMአማርኛ
ካፒታሊስቶች
kapiṭalistoḫ
ARالعربية
رأسماليون
rāsmāliyyūn
BNবাংলা
মুদ্রাবাদী
mudrabadi
CACatalà
capitalistes
kapitalistes
CSČeština
kapitalisté
kapitalisté
DADansk
kapitalister
kapitalister
DEDeutsch
Kapitalisten
kapitaˈlɪstən
ELΕλληνικά
καπιταλιστές
kapitalistés
ESEspañol
capitalistas
kapitalistas
FAفارسی
سرمایهداران
sarmāye dārān
FISuomi
kapitalistit
kapitalistit
FRFrançais
capitalistes
kapitalist
HAHA
masu hannun kudin
masu hannun kudin
HEעברית
קפיטליסטים
kapitalistim
HIहिन्दी
पूंजीवादी
pūnjīvādī
HUMagyar
kapitalisták
kapitalisták
IDBahasa Indonesia
kaum kapitalis
kaum kapitalis
IGIG
ndị ọchịchị ego
ndị ochichi ego
ITItaliano
capitalisti
kapitalisti
KKKK
капиталистер
kapitalister
KMKM
ម្ចាស់មូលធន
mchās moul thôrn
MRMR
मुद्रांकवादी
mudrāṅkvādī
MSBahasa Melayu
kaum kapitalis
kaum kapitalis
MYမြန်မာ
စီးပွားရေးပိုင်ရှင်
sīpwa-yay paing shin
NLNederlands
kapitalisten
kapitalisten
NONorsk
kapitalister
kapitalister
PLPolski
kapitaliści
kapitaliści
PTPortuguês
capitalistas
kapitalistas
RORomână
capitaliști
kapitaliști
RUРусский
капиталисты
kapitalisty
SVSvenska
kapitalister
kapitalister
SWKiswahili
wamiliki
wamiliki
TAதமிழ்
மூலதனவாதிகள்
mūladhanavādhikaḷ
TEతెలుగు
మూలధనవాదులు
mūladhanavādulu
TLTL
mga kapitalista
mga kapitalista
TRTürkçe
kapitalistler
kapitalistler
UKУкраїнська
капіталісти
kapitalisty
URاردو
سرمایہ دار
sarmāyā dār
VITiếng Việt
nhà tư bản
nhà tư bản
YOYO
àwọn ọlọṣọ
awọn oloṣo
ZUZU
abagebengu
abagebengu
Ethical Language Guidance
Gender History
Historically, women were excluded from capital ownership and finance; 'capitalist' defaulted to male pronouns and male-coded power structures in economic discourse.
Inclusive Usage
Use when discussing economic systems neutrally; avoid assuming gender of capitalists in examples.
Inclusive Alternatives
["investors","entrepreneurs","economic actors"]
Empowerment Note
Women have been foundational capitalists (e.g., Sarah Breedlove/Madam C.J. Walker, Estée Lauder) but often erased from capitalist histories.