The correct answer is "robber barons."
Industrialists during the age of big business were viewed as robber barons. They controlled a large amount of wealth.
In was during the late 1800s that the term big business was coined. It was a not so good term that showed disrespect for big corporations that had unfair business practices. With the merger of other companies, the big corporations eliminated their competitors and many companies ceased to exist. These big corporations had the money and the power to influence officials in government and legislation. People didn't like big corporation's practices and protest arose as well as labor union participation.