Cornel West

King's response to our crisis can be put in one word: revolution. A revolution in our priorities, a reevaluation of our values, a reinvigoration of our public life and a fundamental transformation of our way of thinking and living that promotes a transfer of power from oligarchs and plutocrats to everyday people and ordinary citizens.

American Educator

Nick Hanauer

Like most plutocrats, I, too, am a proud and unapologetic capitalist. I have founded, cofounded or funded over 30 companies across a range of industries. I was the first non-family investor in Amazon.com. I cofounded a company called aQuantive that we sold to Microsoft for 6.4 billion dollars. My friends and I, we own a bank.

American Businessman

Thomas Chatterton Williams

If white people on a larger scale really de-emphasized their whiteness, I think that would have to transform the Republican party into a more responsible party that couldn't get by on just playing into white resentment, especially white middle and working class resentment while taking care of the interests of plutocrats.

American Critic

Chrystia Freeland

Plutocrats were the chief beneficiaries of so-called neoliberalism and the suite of political changes it brought beginning in the late 1970s - deregulation, weaker protection for unions, the shareholder value movement, and the subsequent inflation of executive compensation.

Canadian Musician

Every president needs to deal with the permanent government of the country, and the permanent government of the country is Wall Street oligarchs and corporate plutocrats and the questions becomes what is the relationship between that president and Wall Street.

Chuck Schumer

The fundamental weakness in the Tea Party machine is the stark difference between what the leaders of the Tea Party elite - plutocrats like the Koch Brothers -want and what the average grassroots Tea Party follower wants.

American Politician

This notion that borders wouldn't matter, that we would have commonality of interests around the world. Well, guess who got there first? The plutocrats.

No matter how wealthy a few plutocrats get, we can never drive a great national economy. Only a thriving middle class can do that.

The irony of the political rise of the plutocrats is that, like Venice's oligarchs, they threaten the system that created them.

Plutocrats worldwide have readily understood the advantages of evading the burdens of the nation-state.

Plutocrat often has a negative feel, suggesting undue influence or greed.

Negative Connotation

A plutocrat is not simply rich but also holds significant power or influence.

Not Just Wealthy

Plutocrats are often depicted in media as villains or unsympathetic characters.

Cultural References

 unbelievable, right? I tell you this to show that my life is like most plutocrats. I have a broad perspective on capitalism and business, and I have been rewarded obscenely for that