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The Gilded Age and the dawn of the 20th century are often remembered as an era full of monopolies trusts and economic giants in heavy industries like oil and steel Men like Andrew Carnegie built empires like Carnegie Steel and financiers like JP Morgan merged and consolidated them The era also made names like Astor Cooke and Vanderbilt instantly recognizable across the globe Over time the unfathomable wealth generated by the businesses made the individuals on top incredibly rich and that in turn led to immense criticism and an infamous epithet used to rail against them robber barons