From Japanese 'taikun' (great lord), the shogun's diplomatic title — shifted to business magnate in the Gilded Age.
A wealthy, powerful person in business or industry.
From Japanese 'taikun' (大君, great lord, great prince), from 'tai' (大, great) + 'kun' (君, lord, ruler). The word was originally the title used by the shogun of Japan in diplomatic communications with Western powers — presenting himself as the 'Tycoon' (great lord) to avoid using the title 'shogun' (military ruler), which might have raised questions about the emperor's authority. American diplomats brought the word back, and it was famously
Abraham Lincoln's private secretaries, John Nicolay and John Hay, nicknamed him 'the Tycoon' — a joking reference to the Japanese shogun's title, comparing Lincoln's power as wartime president to that of a great military ruler. The word then shifted from 'political strongman' to 'business magnate' during the Gilded Age, when industrialists like Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Vanderbilt wielded power comparable to that of heads of state.