magnate sb who is powerful in the business world He predicted that major groups such as Germany's Bertelsmann and interests controlled by magnates such as Silvio Berlusconi and Carlo de Benedetti would bid for television franchises . The motor magnate was furious and rang the Editor to say so.I have no doubt that the shipping magnates and bankers of Hong Kong will continue to prosper . The much-troubled New York property magnate , has a new problem , his lawyer said yesterday -- a steamy book written by his ex-wife .Newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst stuffed the complex with furniture , paintings and works of art from around the world ; the effect is an overwhelming jumble of artifacts . (in earlier times ) powerful lord During the Wars of the Roses each party appointed leading magnates to the principal Forest offices during their periods of ascendancy . After the Barons' War , a number of feudal magnates with great local estates were appointed as Forest wardens .