19th-century American business and capitalism adored Cornelius Vanderbilt. He used steamships and railroads to construct a corporate empire in the unregulated free market of the Industrial Revolution. Only J.D. Rockefeller has amassed more fortune in the US than him.

 John Davison Rockefeller was an American industrialist and philanthropist. He was born on July 8, 1839, in Richford, New York, United States, and passed away on May 23, 1937, in Ormond Beach, Florida. Rockefeller was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust.

Scottish-born American businessman who oversaw the late 19th-century massive expansion of the American steel industry (born November 25, 1835, Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland—died August 11, 1919, Lenox, Massachusetts). Additionally, he was among the most significant benefactors of his day.

J.P. Morgan (born April 17, 1837, Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.—died March 31, 1913, Rome, Italy), an American financier and industrial organizer, was one of the world's leading financial giants before World War I. He rebuilt numerous major railroads and supported industrial consolidations that produced US Steel, International Harvester, and General Electric.

(born July 30, 1863, in Wayne county, Michigan, United States; died April 7, 1947, in Dearborn, Michigan), American industrialist who revolutionized factory production with his assembly-line methods. His birthplace and place of death are both in Michigan.

It was a harsh word for one of the strong 19th-century American businessmen and financiers who gained billions by monopolizing major industries through trusts, indulging in immoral business methods, exploiting labor, and paying little attention to their customers or rivals. These enterprising tycoons may be celebrated as "captains of industry" by those who attribute the spectacular rise of American capitalism during this century to the relentless pursuit of success and material wealth. They made their fortune in railroads, banks, oil, steel, liquor, cotton, textile, and tobacco industries.

Captains of industry are industrialists considered actual leaders of society who produced huge commercial opportunities, industrial revolution, and economic progress that benefited society and the economy. Industry captains have increased productivity, markets, innovation, jobs, and philanthropy. Andrew Carnegie, Invar Kamprad, and Bill Gates were industrialists. Such business leaders seek more than cash. These people also aspire to improve living standards, economic development, the industrial revolution through product and process innovation, and society and wellbeing.