History Main / CorporateDragon

* ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia2017'': Luna Nova Academy once borrowed money from the dragon Fafnir, who runs his hoard like a venture capitalist and loan shark.

* ''Anime/YuGiOh'': Seto Kaiba, the president of Kaiba Corp, has a deck centralized around dragons, with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon being his signature Monster card. His company even worked as an ArmsDealer until he wrested control from his stepfather, Gozaburo Kaiba, at which point the business slowly shifted into the gaming industry, complete with theme parks and holographic projectors. Even his private jet is shaped like a Blue-Eyes.

* ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'': Elma is a high-ranking Harmony Dragon who is capable of facing [[PersonOfMassDestruction Tohru]] on even footing and works at an IT company... as a low-level software engineer. [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed that Tatsuzawa is also a dragon who was sent to take over for Elma after she was called back to the other world for her ArragendMarriage, though she remains even after the marriage falls through.]]

Potentially a sister trope of DragonHoard.

* ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'': Elma is a high ranking Harmony Dragon who is capable of facing [[PersonOfMassDestruction Tohru]] on even footing and works at an IT company... as a low level software engineer. [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed that Tatsuzawa is also a dragon who was sent to take over for Elma after she was called back to the other world for her ArragendMarriage, though she remains even after the marriage falls through.]]

* ''Literature/DragonsWild'', by Robert Lynn Asprin: The literal dragon protagonist Griffen Mc'Candles becomes the owner of a casino operation in modern day New Orleans.
* ''Literature/InCryptid'', the female members of the dragon species -- known as dragon princesses -- pursue wealth which they trade for gold. This gold is then used for their nests. To do this, they often act as vicious traders and executives who are extremely reluctant to part with any money that they get.
* ''Literature/TheInvisibleLibrary'': Despite the fact that dragons are based mainly on Eastern dragon tropes, in ''Literature/TheMaskedCity'', Irene meets the King of the Northern Ocean in a cyberpunkish dimension where he and his court take the form of the CEO and executives of a {{Megacorp}}.
* ''Literature/TheHeartstrikers'': Very common, as dragons are naturally drawn to positions of power, including running large corporations.

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': The [[CityPlanet city-plane]] of Ravnica has this trope in the MadScientist dragon Niv-Mizzet, parun and guild-master of the Izzet League. Said-guild holds a monopoly on the civic works of the city, including water supply systems, sewers, heating systems, boilers, and roadways.

* ''VideoGame/ShadowrunReturns: Dragonfall'': The symbolism part of the trope is {{lampshaded}}. Dietrich is a shaman of [[HotBlooded the Dragonslayer]], who is trying to push Dieter into slaying bigger and bigger opponents until he gets into a fight he can't win. The protagonist can advise Dietrich to try and negotiate with the Dragonslayer that there are other entities -- especially the {{Mega|corp}}s -- who fulfill a "dragon" role that he can try fighting and "killing" instead, and are often led by actual dragons. The Dragonslayer will agree to this interpretation.

* ''[[https://parttimedragons.com/ Part-Time Dragons]]'': Dev is just a low-level programmer and indie game developer fighting depression, though his [[https://parttimedragons.com/comics/comics/cute-crow-doing-his-best-for-a-new-nest-comic-dragon/ sister]] can be scary sometimes.
* ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'': Mammon is known ([[TryToFitTHATOnABusinessCard among others]]) as the Grand Dragon (his species are very dragon-like, though they are colloquially known as the Kind People), and is the founder, owner and head of the Infinite Bank of Yre, which is in itself a world power due to controlling Throne's coinage. Much of Mammon's DragonHoard is made up of coinage from his own bank. [[spoiler:Mammon himself is actually quite the BenevolentBoss, mostly because he's gone too senile to do much but wander his inner vault and continually count its near-infinite wealth, coin by coin. The Bank mostly runs itself.]]
* ''Webcomic/{{Oglaf}}'': One strip has a halfing sneak into a dragon's cave to propose an association (well, real-estate scam): the dragon sets neighboring villages on fire, the halfling buys the land at a fraction of its value and develops it with gold from the DragonHoard, then splits the profits with the dragon. The dragon incinerates him, then realizes that was actually a good idea.

[[folder:Web Video]]
* ''WebVideo/ThePrinceDivision'': Acidback is and ancient and mighty green dragon who runs an investment firm.

* ''{{Webcomic/Oglaf}}'': One strip has a halfing sneak into a dragon's cave to propose an association (well, real-estate scam): the dragon sets neighboring villages on fire, the halfling buys the land at a fraction of its value and develops it with gold from the DragonHoard, then splits the profits with the dragon. The dragon incinerates him, then realizes that was actually a good idea.

* In ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia2017'', Luna Nova Academy once borrowed money from the dragon Fafnir, who runs his hoard like a venture capitalist and loan shark.

* In ''Literature/DragonsWild'', by Robert Lynn Asprin, the literal dragon protagonist Griffen Mc'Candles becomes the owner of a casino operation in modern day New Orleans.

** ''TabletopGame/BeastThePrimordial'' gives us Luca Rohner, the son of Swiss bankers, becoming an Apex Ugallu Ravager, as well as the head of his family's lucrative investment firm.

*** Baron Fairweather, aka the Free Market Dragon, a creature of pure {{Greed}} who owns Max Mart as part of a centuries-long plan to lay claim to the entire mortal world. His current incarnation might actually have [[BeenThereShapedHistory helped create]] modern {{capitalism|IsBad}}.
*** Dorian Hargrave, aka Dzarûmazh the Deathless, aka the Conqueror Worm, owns Hargrave Imports, but is more interested in power and authority in all their forms, especially as tools in his centuries-long quest to [[spoiler:master the magic of ColdIron.]]

* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', the [[CityPlanet city-plane]] of Ravnica has this trope in the MadScientist dragon Niv-Mizzet, parun and guild-master of the Izzet League. Said-guild holds a monopoly on the civic works of the city, including water supply systems, sewers, heating systems, boilers, and roadways.

** The Great Dragon Celedyr was fascinated with technology, and used his hoard of treasure to take over the Mega Corp Transys Neuronet. After it merged with the corporations Erika and Novatech, he became Director of Research and Development for the combined corporation Neo_NET. His human colleague Richard Villiers, [[CorruptCorporateExecutive a born businessman]] and much more charismatic being, actually runs the show at Neo_NET, and the pair have done well in at least tolerating one another so far.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Starfinder}}'', multiple dragons rule entire countries and corporations on the planet of Triaxus. An ancient green dragon named Dretchnyliax, after getting beaten up for aggressive expansion efforts, settled down and started a [[{{Nepotism}} family-run]] business centered on dragon-flesh augmentation. She is also now a {{Cyborg}}, being triple her original size and more mecha than flesh.

* The symbolism part of the trope is {{lampshaded}} in ''VideoGame/ShadowrunReturns: Dragonfall''. Dietrich is a shaman of [[HotBlooded the Dragonslayer]], who is trying to push Dieter into slaying bigger and bigger opponents until he gets into a fight he can't win. The protagonist can advise Dietrich to try and negotiate with the Dragonslayer that there are other entities -- especially the {{Mega|corp}}s -- who fulfill a 'dragon' role that he can try fighting and 'killing' instead, and are often led by actual dragons. The Dragonslayer will agree to this interpretation.

* Mammon from ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'' is known ([[TryToFitTHATOnABusinessCard among others]]) as the Grand Dragon (his species are very dragon-like, though they are colloquially known as the Kind People), and is the founder, owner and head of the Infinite Bank of Yre, which is in itself a world power due to controlling Throne's coinage. Much of Mammon's DragonHoard is made up of coinage from his own bank. [[spoiler:Mammon himself is actually quite the BenevolentBoss, mostly because he's gone too senile to do much but wander his inner vault and continually count its near-infinite wealth, coin by coin. The Bank mostly runs itself.]]

** The Great Dragon Celedyr was fascinated with technology, and used his hoard of treasure to take over the Mega Corp Transys Neuronet. After it merged with the corporations Erika and Novatech, he became Director of Research and Development for the combined corporation Neo_NET. His human colleague Richard Villiers, [[CorruptCorporateExectuive a born businessman]] and much more charismatic being, actually runs the show at Neo_NET, and they pair have done well in at least tolerating one another so far.

** The dragon Dunkelzahn was a bit of a weirdo amongst the dragons, especially in that he was much more humanist and fond of the mortals the dragons usually exploit. He was still filthy rich (and judging by the outcomes of his will, just as manipulative as his peers}, but his business concerns were hosting a talk show and a conspicuously profitable nonprofit that manages his estate. Dunkelzahn's biggest accomplishment (in recorded history, at least) was becoming [[OurPresidentsAreDifferent President]] of [[DividedStatesOfAmerica the U.C.A.S.]] for all of 8 hours before he had been assassinated.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'': It's very common in the setting for the ancient, cunning, and extremely manipulative dragons to control the {{MegaCorp}}s that rule much of the world's economy and resources:
** The dragon Lofwyr controls Saeder-Krupp, one of the largest Mega Corporations in the world (''the'' largest in some editions), and is the source of the ArcWords "never cut a deal with a dragon".
** The Great Dragon Celedyr used his hoard of treasure to take over the Mega Corp Transys Neuronet. After it merged with the corporations Erika and Novatech, he became Director of Research and Development for the combined corporation Neo_NET.

For another UrbanFantasy stereotype, see VampiresOwnNightClubs.

* ''[[https://parttimedragons.com/ Part-Time Dragons]]'': Dev is just a low-level programmer and indie game developer fighting depression, though his [[https://parttimedragons.com/comics/comic/title-159/ sister]] can be scary sometimes.

* ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'': Elma is a high ranking Harmony Dragon who is capable of facing [[PersonOfMassDestruction Tohru]] on even footing and works at an IT company... as a low level software engineer.