millionaire (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Mullins, Bill AMRDEC]

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

Don't disagree at all with your comments about plutocrat and magnate,
which is why I listed them secondarily.  However, I see tycoon used as a
synonym for rich person commonly in casual usage.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
Behalf Of
> Victor Steinbok
> Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 10:06 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: millionaire (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: millionaire (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
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------
> -
>
> I was going to mention plutocrat and, even more of a stretch,
oligarch.
> Both are, of course, more than just "wealthy people"--at least,
> traditionally--but they are also socially marked. You see and hear
these
> from the left-leaning crowd, particularly liberal bloggers.
>
> Tycoon and magnate have less to do with wealth than with corporate
> control. Of course, there is an implication that he is wealthy as well
> (and invariably male), but that's a secondary characteristic.
Plutocrat
> and oligarch are supposed to be implying some influence or
participation
> in the government, but there has been considerable drift there. I have
> not noticed the same concerning "tycoon" and "magnate"--both are
always
> in reference to a corporate executive, something that cannot, for
> example, be applied to Mitt Romney (I am not even sure he's a "former
> tycoon" and he was never a "magnate").
>
>      VS-)
>
> On 4/17/2012 10:34 AM, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC wrote:
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
Behalf Of
> Baker, John
> >> Sent: Monday, April 16, 2012 6:30 PM
> >> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> >> Subject: Re: millionaire (UNCLASSIFIED)
> >>
> >>          Somewhat more surprisingly, English lacks a common word
meaning "a
> wealthy individual."
> > Tycoon
> >
> > Also magnate, plutocrat
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

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