"Captain of industry" was a term originally used in the United Kingdom during the Industrial Revolution describing a business leader whose means of amassing a personal fortune contributes positively to the country in some way.
This may have been through increased productivity, expansion of markets, providing more jobs, or acts of philanthropy.[1] This contrasts with robber baron, a term used to describe a business leader using political means to achieve their ends.
Some nineteenth-century industrialists who were called "captains of industry" overlap with those called "robber barons". These include people such as J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, Andrew W. Mellon, and John D. Rockefeller. The term was coined by Thomas Carlyle in his 1843 book, Past and Present.
The title is regaining popularity in India, whose billionaires have more wealth than any other country in Asia.