<P> "Robber baron" is a derogatory metaphor of social criticism originally applied to certain late 19th - century American businessmen who were accused of using unscrupulous methods to get rich, or expand their wealth, for example Cornelius Vanderbilt taking money from government - subsidized shippers, in order to not compete on their routes . </P> <P> The term was based on an analogy to the German robber barons, local feudal lords or bandits in Germany who waylaid travellers through their ostensible territory, claiming some tax or fine was owed . </P>

Who did the term robber barons refer to