the.com/plutocrat
Someone who buys the ladder, then sells the rungs behind them.
means A person who wields power because of their wealth, in a society effectively ruled by the rich.
from Built from Greek ploutos, 'wealth' (also the root of Pluto as god of riches, confusingly distinct from Pluto the underworld god, Plouton), plus -kratia, 'rule' or 'power' — the same suffix that gives us democrat and aristocrat. The word plutocracy surfaces in the 1600s, but 'plutocrat' itself is a 19th-century coinage, sharpened into a political insult once industrial fortunes started buying elections and newspapers rather than just mansions.
- origin
- Greek ploutos, meaning wealth, plus kratos, power
- not a billionaire
- any rich person; a billionaire who rules is
- golden rule
- whoever has the gold makes the rules
- favorite hobby
- calling democracy inefficient at dinner parties