Captains of Industry
The term captains of industry is derived from book by Thomas Carlyle in his book, “Past and Present” describing successful nineteenth-century bankers and industrialists. In essence, a captain of industry is a business leader whose business acumen has resulted in great wealth. These business leaders are praised by their colleagues and … Keep Reading → communities for expanding markets, growing the local economy, providing jobs and acts of philanthropy. Industry leaders of the industrial age included J. P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, Andrew W. Mellon and John D. Rockefeller. Modern day captains of industry would probably include Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Steven Spielberg, Steve Jobs and Larry Ellison. While many historians view these successful business leaders as captains of industry, there are those who prefer to call them “robber barons” because of their questionable business dealings. Read more about these captains of industry in this Hub.
