plutocracy

[ ploo-tok-ruh-see ]

noun

plural plutocracies.

1. the rule or power of wealth or of the wealthy.
2. a government or state in which the wealthy class rules.
3. a class or group ruling, or exercising power or influence, by virtue of its wealth.

plutocracy

/ ˌpluːtəˈkrætɪk; pluːˈtɒkrəsɪ /

noun

1. the rule or control of society by the wealthy
2. a state or government characterized by the rule of the wealthy
3. a class that exercises power by virtue of its wealth

plutocracy

1. Government by the rich. The term is usually one of reproach.

Derived Forms

• plutocratic, adjective
• ˌplutoˈcratically, adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of plutocracy¹

1645–55; < Greek ploutokratía, equivalent to ploûto ( s ) wealth + -kratia -cracy

Word History and Origins

Origin of plutocracy¹

C17: from Greek ploutokratia government by the rich, from ploutos wealth + -kratia rule, power

Example Sentences

In his newsletter, historian Timothy Snyder offered the following critique of the logic of “free market” orthodoxy and how Bezos’ decision is doing the work of authoritarianism and plutocracy:

From Salon

By the very nature of how power is concentrated around the Leader and their inner circle, autocracies and authoritarian regimes are almost always kleptocracies and plutocracies.

From Salon

The new America that is in the process of being born will be a 21st-century American apartheid and White Christofascist plutocracy and kleptocracy.

From Salon

Trump’s plan to end America’s multiracial pluralistic democracy and replace it with a form of autocracy and a White Christian nationalist plutocracy is literally torn from the pages of Project 2025.

From Salon

They want to return the United States to the Gilded Age — if not before — as they transform the country into a new apartheid Christofascist plutocracy.

From Salon