Yes, they are mindless entities. Automatons. It was the work of only a handful of men to create the modern corporation out of the slim guidance of the Constitution. All railroad men, and none of them enriched themselves unduly [Tom Scott possibly excepted] even if their client corporations, Southern Pacific or Pennsylvania Railroad, grew to be the largest mega-corporations of their day. The railroads gave or decreed the time zones--a demonstration of raw power--, but Congress to a degree regained the battlefield by imposing Daylight Saving Time on top of that.
I'm thinking the closest parallel would be the fur traders of the new world, or perhaps Hudson's Bay Company.
The trappers took the risks, braved the arrows, and eked out a living, while the merchant princes lived a comfortable life of imported luxuries.
But it was the men who went in search of the unknown, instead of fortune, who have ended up gracing our tales of romance and adventure.
Given a choice of a well-appointed suite in the International Space Station Grande Hotel, or a little four-seater scoutship out among the asteroids, I know what I would choose.