Business magnate
A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the creation or ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or services are widely consumed. Such individuals have been known by different terms throughout history, such as robber barons, captains of industry, moguls, oligarchs, plutocrats, or tai-pans.
"Tycoon" and "Industrialist" redirect here. For other uses, see Tycoon (disambiguation) and Industrialist (disambiguation).Etymology and history[edit]
The term magnate derives from the Latin word magnates (plural of magnas), meaning "great man" or "great nobleman".
The term mogul is an English corruption of mughal, Persian or Arabic for "Mongol". It alludes to emperors of the Mughal Empire in Early Modern India, who possessed great power and storied riches capable of producing wonders of opulence, such as the Taj Mahal.
The term tycoon derives from the Japanese word taikun (大君), which means "great lord", used as a title for the shōgun.[1][2] The word entered the English language in 1857[3] with the return of Commodore Perry to the United States. US President Abraham Lincoln was humorously referred to as the Tycoon by his aides John Nicolay and John Hay.[4] The term spread to the business community, where it has been used ever since.
