Economic Boom and Inequality Gilded Age – Rapid Industrial Growth – Wealthy Elites – Robber Barons John D. Rockefeller – Standard Oil (oil industry) Andrew Carnegie – Carnegie Steel (steel industry) J.P. Morgan – Banking and finance (helped consolidate industries like steel and railroads) Cornelius Vanderbilt – Railroads and shipping Jay Gould – Railroads and stock speculation James J. Hill – Great Northern Railway Leland Stanford – Railroads and later founder of Stanford University

1920s – Rapid Growth Economic Inequality – Rise of Organized Crime Al Capone (“Scarface”) – Chicago – Johnny Torrio – Chicago – Lucky Luciano – New York Arnold Rothstein (“The Brain”) – New York Fixed the World Series Frank Costello – New York – Bugs Moran – Chicago Meyer Lansky – New York Dutch Schultz – New York

2025 – Economic Inequality – Tech and Pharma Bros – Large Scale Corruption the New Robber Barons – Private Equity – spend billions to buy companies, gut them, and sell of their assets to make a quick profit Political Corruption & Business Influence

Gilded Age was known for political machines and monopolistic practices.

The 1920s had business-friendly policies and scandals like the Teapot Dome.

2025 Tax cuts for the higher earners, government subsidies to private industries – in the form of tax abatements, opening up federal land for lumber and oil. Cultural Shifts & Social Unrest

Gilded Age – Labor strikes, immigration debates, and racial tensions

The 1920s added a cultural rebellion (flappers, jazz, Prohibition-era speakeasies)

2025 – Book bans, culture wars, the rise of Christian Nationalism