financier

/ˌˈfɪnənˌˈsɪər/

/fɪnænˈsɪə/

Other forms: financiers; financiering

A financier is someone who handles big clients and big financial transactions. A financier is the high-profile star of a company and the envy of the overworked entry-level workers.

The suffix -ier in financier tells you that this word refers to a person who has something to do with finance. But where does the word finance come from? Long ago, it meant "to settle or end a debt," which you can see in fin, the Old French word for "end." But as financial work evolved, it came to also encompass taxation and revenue, not just debt collection.

Definitions of financier

1. noun

   a person skilled in large scale financial transactions
   synonyms: moneyman

   examples:

   Bernard Mannes Baruch

   economic advisor to United States Presidents (1870-1965)

   James Buchanan Brady

   United States financier noted for his love of diamonds and his extravagant lifestyle (1856-1917)

   Jay Cooke

   United States financier who marketed Union bonds to finance the American Civil War; the failure of his bank resulted in a financial panic in 1873 (1821-1905)

   Cosimo de Medici

   Italian financier and statesman and friend of the papal court (1389-1464)

   Stephen Girard

   United States financier (born in France) who helped finance the War of 1812 (1750-1831)

   Jay Gould

   United States financier who gained control of the Erie Canal and who caused a financial panic in 1869 when he attempted to corner the gold market (1836-1892)

   Sir Thomas Gresham

   English financier (1519-1579)

   William Averell Harriman

   United States financier who negotiated a treaty with the Soviet Union banning tests of nuclear weapons (1891-1986)

   Johns Hopkins

   United States financier and philanthropist who left money to found the university and hospital that bear his name in Baltimore (1795-1873)

   Andrew William Mellon

   United States financier and philanthropist (1855-1937)

   John Pierpont Morgan

   United States financier and philanthropist (1837-1913)

   Robert Morris

   leader of the American Revolution who signed the Declaration of Independence and raised money for the Continental Army (1734-1806)

   Cecil John Rhodes

   British colonial financier and statesman in South Africa; made a fortune in gold and diamond mining; helped colonize the territory now known as Zimbabwe; he endowed annual fellowships for British Commonwealth and United States students to study at Oxford University (1853-1902)

   Haym Salomon

   American financier and American Revolutionary War patriot who helped fund the army during the American Revolution (1740?-1785)

   Commodore Vanderbilt

   United States financier who accumulated great wealth from railroad and shipping businesses (1794-1877)

   types:

   banker

   a financier who owns or is an executive in a bank

   city man

   a financier who works in one of the banks in the City of London

   dealer, principal

   the major party to a financial transaction at a stock exchange; buys and sells for his own account

   broker-dealer

   a financial specialist who trades for his own account and so acts both as a broker and principal

   bank clerk, cashier, teller

   an employee of a bank who receives and pays out money

   type of:

   capitalist

   a person who invests capital in a business (especially a large business)
2. verb

   conduct financial operations, often in an unethical manner
   type of:

   operate, run

   direct or control; projects, businesses, etc.