oligarch

noun

ol·​i·​garch ˈä-lə-ˌgärk  ˈō- 

plural oligarchs

1

: a member or supporter of an oligarchy

2

in Russia and other countries that succeeded the Soviet Union : one of a class of individuals who through private acquisition of state assets amassed great wealth that is stored especially in foreign accounts and properties and who typically maintain close links to the highest government circles

But what does it really mean to be a Russian oligarch …? … in Russian politics, the term first came about in the 1990s to describe a dozen or so powerful men who amassed immense wealth following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

—The Business Insider

The task force will pool the resources of the countries' law enforcement divisions to track down the assets of Russian oligarchs stashed overseas, a difficult task complicated by the opaque or complicated financial instruments frequently used by Russian financial elites to hide their holdings from public view.

—Jeff Stein

… young Armenians, who joined the protests in droves, angry that the same small club of politicians and oligarchs has controlled the country since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

—Neil Macfarquhar

Examples of oligarch in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Unfortunately, most of the groups represented on the council are from the old guard, connected with gangs and oligarchs. —Monique Clesca, Washington Post, 18 June 2024

The characters in the docu are eccentric and fun, including an intermediary who bought the painting to transfer to a Russian oligarch. —Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 17 June 2024

The Dickensian cast of characters runs to fifty-nine names and spans the breadth of the class hierarchy: a cabdriver, a duke, drill rappers, a Russian oligarch, people-traffickers, a newspaper columnist, a fashion designer, a chutney heiress. —Anna Russell, The New Yorker, 17 June 2024

Past privatization efforts have often been ill-conceived, economists say, allowing large assets to fall into the hands of oligarchs on the cheap, or have been delayed for years by unfavorable market conditions and legal disputes over the payment of company debts. —Daria Mitiuk, New York Times, 12 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Greek oligárchēs, from olig- olig- + -archēs -arch entry 1, after Greek oligarcheîsthai "to be ruled by an oligarchy," oligarchía oligarchy

First Known Use

circa 1610, in the meaning defined at sense 1