Well, he did invent the word. Snark aside, I think the reason why Plato is so influential is Christianity - basically a radicalized form of his ideas.
Philokaloumen te gar met ' euteleias kai philosophoumen aneu malakias.
Plato was probably the first to use the term in a technical sense, to refer to someone who spends his life as a 'professional' philosopher.
Considering my user name I guess I should have led with that reference.