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Ploutos was Greek for "wealth", and Plouton, or Pluto, was one of the names used for the Greek god of the underworld, where all the earth's mineral wealth was stored. So a plutocracy governs or wields power through its money. The economic growth in the U.S. in the late 19th century produced a group of enormously wealthy plutocrats. Huge companies like John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil gained serious political power, and Rockefeller was able to influence lawmakers in states where his businesses operated. For this reason, it was said in 1905 that Ohio and New Jersey were plutocracies, not democracies.
Examples of plutocracy in a Sentence
Tyler Green, The Atlantic, 21 May 2026
The Populists opted for an alliance, promising a war on the plutocracy.
—David McWilliams, Fortune, 16 Nov. 2025
Indeed, with authoritarian plutocracy now ever more entrenched, the only restructuring going on is of another order entirely.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 6 Oct. 2025
These days, nothing infuriates liberals more than to be lectured about the American plutocracy — not when Trump is perhaps the most brazenly corrupt president to hold the office in modern history.
—Alexander Heffner, Chicago Tribune, 29 May 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Plutocracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plutocracy. Accessed 23 Jun. 2026.
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plutocracy
noun
