You enjoy your luxuries, but maybe it’s time to mobilize them for profit. The Monopolies and Corporations mode enables you to build Industries around Luxury resources, which give particular bonuses depending on the resource, found Corporations to improve those yields, manufacture unique Products – brands that act as economic Great Works, and, finally, secure a Monopoly. This Mode is one that is significant in all time periods, but really gets going in the later game.

Once a civilization has improved two of the same type of Luxury resource and has completed the Currency technology they have the opportunity to establish an Industry around that resource. Resources owned by city-states also count toward this requirement if the player is suzerain of the city-state. This is done by using a Builder’s charge on top of an existing Improvement on any one of the Luxury resources. Only one Industry is allowed in a city at a time.

In addition to providing Great Merchant points, Industries grant particular bonuses to their city based on the type of resource they improve:
Amber: +25% Faith yield.
Citrus: +30% Production toward military units.
Cocoa: +20% Growth and +3 Housing.
Coffee: +20% Culture yield.
Cotton: +30% Production toward military units.
Diamonds: +25% Gold yield.
Dyes: +25% Faith yield.
Furs: +30% Production toward civilian units.
Gypsum: +30% Production toward buildings.
Honey: +20% Growth and +3 Housing.
Incense: +25% Faith yield.
Ivory: +30% Production toward military units.
Jade: +25% Gold yield.
Marble: +30% Production toward buildings.
Mercury: +15% Science yield.
Olives: +30% Production toward civilian units.
Pearls: +25% Faith yield.
Salt: +20% Growth and +3 Housing.
Silk: +20% Culture yield.
Silver: +25% Gold yield.
Spices: +20% Culture yield.
Sugar: +20% Growth and +3 Housing.
Tea: +15% Science yield.
Tobacco: +30% Production toward military units.
Truffles: +25% Gold yield.
Turtles: +15% Science yield.
Whales: +30% Production toward military units.
Wine: +20% Culture yield.

After researching Economics, and after securing at least three instances of the same Luxury resource and establishing an Industry, it’s time to found a Corporation. These require a Great Merchant instead of a Builder to create, and the Great Merchant is retired once the Corporation is created. Corporations can only be built on top of Industry improvements. Corporations grant double the Industry bonus for the appropriate resource to their home city. You can name your Corporation whatever you like, or use the automated name generator!

There can only be one Corporation for each Luxury resource in the world, but Corporations can be put 'out of business' if an opposing player manages to control more instances of the resource than the owning player. Once an opponent secures a controlling interest in another Corporation's resource, they can form their own Corporation around it, and the original owner's Corporation is removed.

Once you’ve established a Corporation around a specific luxury resource, you can make a unique Product – a brand. These are similar to Great Works, but instead of being housed in museums, they are stored in new Great Work slots in Stock Exchange or Seaport buildings. Once placed, Products provide the benefits of an Industry, giving whatever bonus their original Luxury resource provided to their new city. You can move your Product to any city you like with the appropriate Great Work slot.

Capitalism might thrive on free trade, but savvy merchants know how to squeeze out their competitors. Controlling 60% or more of the world instances of a Luxury resource grants you a Monopoly on that Luxury. Each monopoly gives Tourism to the owning player, based on the number of resources controlled, multiplied by the number of foreign civilizations that do not control an instance of the monopolized resource. Monopolies also provide a Gold yield per turn, beginning at +5 for controlling the bare minimum but rising to +10 at 75%, and +25 for controlling all instances. Additional +5 Gold per turn is awarded for each major civilization the Monopoly holder is currently trading with. Once you research Mercantilism, you will be able to see the total number of Luxury resources in the world, as well as what percentage each player currently controls. You can control multiple Monopolies, but that seems a little cruel, doesn’t it?