Editor’s Note:

In the US we called them ‘Robber Barons’. These American oligarchs of the Gilded Age amassed fortunes by ruthlessly pursuing and protecting monopolies. They decorated their palatial estates in Newport with fine art vacuumed out of Europe. In reaction, Theodore Roosevelt built a political career as a ‘trust buster.’ He broke up monopolies, cracked down on court corruption, and adopted free market reforms. If implemented seriously, it could work here — one century later With Best Regards, Jim Brooke