Since a "businessman" can mean anyone in industry or commerce,[2] businesspeople have existed as long as industry and commerce have existed. "Commerce" can simply mean "trade", and trade has existed through all of recorded history. The first businesspeople in human history were traders or merchants.[3]
Around the same time, Europe saw the "emergence of rich merchants."[5] This "rise of the merchant class" came as Europe "needed a middleman" for the first time, and these "burghers" or "bourgeois" were the people who played this role.[6]
Renaissance to Enlightenment: Rise of the capitalist
Europe became the dominant global commercial power in the 16th century, and as Europeans developed new tools for business, new types of "business people" began to use those tools. In this period, Europe developed and used paper money, cheques, and joint-stock companies (and their shares of capital stock).[7] Developments in actuarial science and underwriting led to insurance.[8] Together, these new tools were used by a new kind of businessperson, the capitalist. These people owned or financed businesses as investors, but they were not merchants of goods. These capitalists were a major force in the Industrial Revolution.[9]
The Oxford English Dictionary reports the earliest known use of the word "business-men" in 1798, and of "business-man" in 1803. By 1860, the spelling "businessmen" had emerged.[10]
Merriam Webster reports the earliest known use of the word "businesswoman" in 1827.[11]
Salaries for businesspeople vary.[15][16] The salaries of businesspeople can be as high as billions of dollars per year. For example, the owner of Microsoft, Bill Gates makes $4 billion per year. The high salaries which businesspeople earn have often been a source of criticism from many who believe they are paid excessively.[17]
An entrepreneur is a person who sets up a business or multiple businesses (serial entrepreneur). Entrepreneurship may be defined as the creation or extraction of economic value. It is generally thought to embrace risks beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business. Its motivation can include other values than simply economic ones.[18][19][20]
In general usage, because the distinction is not clear-cut, the term 'entrepreneur' may be used as a (self-)promoting euphemism for 'businessperson', or it may serve to objectively indicate particular passion and risk-taking in a business field. Still, the distinction is only one by degrees.[21][22]
^"businessman". WebFinance Inc. 2018. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 6 July 2018. businessman[:] A person who is employed by an organization or company. Businessmen are often associated with white collar jobs. In order to avoid sexism or the perpetuation of stereotypes, the term is often replaced with "businessperson". The term "businesswoman" is less commonly used.
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