They could be considered both. They used their money to influence local, state and the federal government. Laws were not passed or not enforced that would regulate big business. However, many of the these same men gave large sums of money (philanthropy) to charities.
The First Crusade is argueably the only successful crusade (though I would argue the Second Crusade was also successful) as it caught the Muslim defenders off guard, and not only was able to retake Jerusalem and place it under Christian rule, but also to open up a safe travel route for Christian Pilgrims. However, soon the Muslims were able to retake Jerusalem, which led to the Second Crusade occurring.
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