Plutonomy

Origin

plutocracyeconomy, from Ancient Greek roots πλοῦτος (ploutos, "wealth") + νόμος (nomos, "law") (English -nomy).

In occasional use since 19th century, re-coined 2005 by team of Citigroup global strategist Ajay Kapur to describe economies with significant income and wealth inequality,

“Plutonomics”, Robert Frank, Wall Street Journal blog The Wealth Report, January 8, 2007:

‘Ajay Kapur, global strategist at Citigroup, and his research team came up with the term “Plutonomy” in 2005 to describe a country that is defined by massive income and wealth inequality. According to their definition, the U.S. is a Plutonomy, along with the U.K., Canada and Australia.’

subsequently popularized.

“The Economics Of Plutonomy”, Matthew Yglesias, Slate, Moneybox, Nov. 21, 2011

Full definition of plutonomy

Noun

1. An economy that is significantly influenced by the very wealthy.
2. The study of the production and distribution of wealth.

Related terms

• plutocracy
• plutocrat
• plutonomic

Derived terms

• plutonomist