History Main / MerchantPrince

-->''Not counting the Line and the Foundry, the yards and the village, too,''
-->''I've made myself and a million; but I'm damned if I made you.''
-->''Master at two-and-twenty, and married at twenty-three --''
-->''Ten thousand men on the pay-roll, and forty freighters at sea''
-->''Fifty years between'em, and every year of it fight,''
-->''And now I'm Sir Anthony Gloster, dying, a baronite:''
-->''For I lunched with his Royal 'Ighness -- what was it the papers had?''
-->''"Not the least of our merchant-princes." Dickie, that's me, your dad!''
-->RudyardKipling,''The Mary Gloster''

* The Vattas of VattasWar.

* Two very prominent families have done this in the United States, the Kennedys (who obviously produced JohnFKennedy as well as several other politicians) and the Rockefellers (who produced several congressmen, senators, and two governors, one of whom became Vice President) springboarded to political positions from the wealth they made or inherited.

** By the end of the series, Harry King has become one, though it's mostly due to his socialite-wannabe wife.

-->''[[SelfMadeMan I've made myself and a million;]] [[ParentalNeglect but I'm damned if I made you.]]''

* An option in ''ImperiumNova'' with many spheres, in particular Mercantile.

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel, ''Literature/GoingPostal'', Reacher Guilt is a powerful merchant and conman who is attempting to use his wealth and power to displace the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork.

* Xaro Xhoan Daxos in ''GameOfThrones'', richest man in Qarth and member of "The Thirteen," the ruling council of the city of Qarth.

-->''Ten thousand men on the pay-roll, and forty freighters at seal''

* In TheBible Lydia the purple dye merchantess was one of the first gentile converts to Christianity from Greece. As purple was a high end luxury product(at least the equiv to the more exotic perfumes on the modern market, perhaps more when you account for travel hazards and sumptuary laws at the time), one must conclude she was a powerful figure. And given the patriarchal society she lived in she probably overcame a number of obstacles making her an even more impressive figure; possibly she was the [[GrandeDame matron]] of a local dynasty who was serving [[YouAreInCommandNow as family head]] on the death or incapacity of ThePatriarch. That is speculation though.

** If you're trying to be semantic by saying ''tycoon'' came from Chinese via Japanese, consider that Japan has had ''zaibatsu'' since the Meiji Restoration. The Big Four (Sumitomo, Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and Yasuda) dictated much if not most of Imperial Japan's policies (at least until the military nationalized much of their assets in World War Two) and were ultimately controlled by a single family.

-->''I've made myself and a million; but I'm damned if I made you.''

* In ''VideoGame/UnchartedWaters'' and its sequel, ''New Horizons'', while some of the playable characters had main careers as merchants and some did not, any character with enough gold could invest in the markets and shipyards of foreign ports, and with enough investment over time could bring the port into their home country's "sphere of influence" which would afford them a favorable market there as well as expand the power and influence of their home country. Such influence-buying helps the character enter the nobility and advance upward in noble rank, which implies increased political power.

* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', dwarf companion Varric Tethras is described as one in his specialization. The full story is a bit more complicated - he comes from a noble family that was exiled to the surface for their father's crime. His brother is obsessed with restoring his house's former glory, while Varric is content with the life of a successful KnowledgeBroker who occasionally shoots people. He finds actual finance rather dull by comparison and avoids Merchant Guild meetings if at all possible.

Generally, a MerchantCity will be ruled by one of these, or by a council of them modeled after those of Renaissance Italy.

Might naturally rule over a MegaCorp.

* Lydia the purple dye merchantess was one of the first gentile converts mentioned. As purple was a high end luxury product(at least the equiv to the more exotic perfumes on the modern market perhaps more when you account for travel hazards and sumptuary laws), one must conclude she was a powerful figure. And given the patriarchal society she lived in she probably overcame a number of obstacles making her an even more impressive figure; possibly she was the [[GrandeDame matron]] of a local dynasty who was serving [[YouAreInCommandNow as family head]] on the death or incapacity of ThePatriarch. That is speculation though.

* Lydia the purple dye merchantess was one of the first gentile converts mentioned. As purple was a high end luxury product(at least the equiv to the more exotic perfumes on the modern market perhaps more when you account for travel hazards and sumptuary laws), one must conclude she was a powerful figure. And given the patriarchal society she lived in she probably overcame a number of obstacles making her an even more impressive figure; possibly she was the [[GrandeDame matron]] of a local dynasty who was serving [[YouAreInCommandKnow as family head]] on the death or incapacity of ThePatriarch. That is speculation though.

A merchant or other capitalist character who, by using the wealth, knowledge, and skills ([[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney often including outright bribery]]) he has acquired, becomes a member of society's ruling class. Unlike in OneNationUnderCopyright, the Merchant Prince doesn't necessarily own outright the society he rules, or even run a MegaCorp; he may, in fact, be only the "first among equals" among many competing merchants. However, this usually doesn't keep him from trying to run the government like he would his business.

A merchant or other capitalist character who uses the wealth, knowledge, and skills ([[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney often including outright bribery]]) he has acquired to become a member of society's ruling class. Unlike in OneNationUnderCopyright, the Merchant Prince doesn't necessarily own outright the society he rules, or even run a MegaCorp; he may, in fact, be only the "first among equals" among many competing merchants. However, this usually doesn't keep him from trying to run the government like he would his business.

Using wealth, knowledge, and skills ([[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney often including outright bribery]]), a merchant or other capitalist character has acquired to become a member of society's ruling class. Unlike in OneNationUnderCopyright, the Merchant Prince doesn't necessarily own outright the society he rules, or even run a MegaCorp; he may, in fact, be only the "first among equals" among many competing merchants. However, this usually doesn't keep him from trying to run the government like he would his business.

A merchant or other capitalist character who uses the wealth, knowledge, and skills ([[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney often including outright bribery]]) he has acquired to become a member of society's ruling class. Unlike in OneNationUnderCopyright, the Merchant Prince doesn't necessarily own outright the society he rules, or even run a MegaCorp; he may, in fact, be only the "first among equals" among many competing merchants. However, this usually doesn't keep him from trying to run the government like he would his business.

** If you're trying to be semantic by saying ''tycoon'' came from Chinese via Japanese, consider that Japan has had ''zaibatsu'' since the Meiji Restoration. The Big Four (Sumitomo, Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and Yasuda) dictated much if not most of Imperial Japan's policies and were ultimately controlled by a single family.