masters of the universe
Definition
A popular 1980s toy franchise, animated TV series, and live-action film featuring the superhero He-Man and his battle against Skeletor on the planet Eternia.
(Informal, often ironic) Highly powerful and influential individuals, especially ambitious Wall Street financiers or executives who believe they control global markets, popularized by Tom Wolfe's novel *The Bonfire of the Vanities*.
Examples
The Wall Street brokers strutted into the office like masters of the universe, only to get humbled by a rogue algorithm.
Forget superheroes; my toddler with a sippy cup is the real master of the universe in our living room.
He-Man fans still whisper 'By the power of Grayskull!' when pretending to be masters of the universe at nostalgia conventions.
In the tech startup world, every founder pitches themselves as a master of the universe until the funding round ghosts them.