Word plutocrat appeared in three articles on NYTimes.com over the past year, including on April 11 in the opinion essay “Inequalities Ahoy! On the meaning of superyacht» by Paul Krugman:
When the wealthy can afford to buy and operate large yachts, they do so. Indeed, yachts are a highly visible indicator of inequality, of the concentration of income and wealth in the hands of a few. The Golden Age was marked by a proliferation of increasingly larger and more lavishly furnished yachts; When JP Morgan built a large steam yacht, its launch in 1898 was featured in the New York Times.
…Owning and operating a very large yacht, however, is as clear an example as you are likely to find of Thorstein Veblen’s theory of conspicuous consumption – spending intended to demonstrate one’s wealth and status, rather than the direct satisfaction it provides. Indeed, the New Yorker article suggests that demand for superyachts really took off once owning one’s own plane ceased to be an effective status symbol: “It once seemed that every plutocrat We had a plane, the thrill was gone.
Daily Word Challenge
Can you use the word correctly plutocrat in a sentence?
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