These salaried sultans ruled over sprawling conglomerates with elaborate hierarchies and ornate headquarters.
Big media conglomerates, with deep pockets and in-built distribution, are well-suited to this job.
There are government rules and regulations and competition from entrenched conglomerates with vast distribution systems.
India boasts a handful of family-led conglomerates with a long tradition of philanthropy.
Local newspapers, many owned by conglomerates with business interests in the mainland, have become less probing.
"We like companies that are focused on one business, not conglomerates with lots of businesses".
Mr. Cho's conglomerate, the Hanjin Group, ranks eighth among Korean conglomerates, with assets valued at more than $20 billion.
Investors also put pressure on conglomerates with operations that are varied, far-flung and hard to fathom.
In Northern Europe, cooperatives have tended to merge, often becoming huge agricultural conglomerates with real market muscle.
Many of the leading Turkish newspapers and television broadcasters are owned by conglomerates with holdings in businesses like construction, where government contracts are an important source of revenue.
Commodity industries used to be fragmented, with a few giants, such as Rio Tinto, that were conglomerates with a range of businesses across a variety of countries.
