cronies
n. plural-onlyn. close friends or partners of a powerful person who get special treatment or jobs, even if they are not the best people for the work.
n. close associates or long-standing companions of a person in power, typically receiving preferential treatment or illicit advantages. Often carries a strong pejorative connotation of corruption or nepotism.
The mayor gave all the best city jobs to his cronies.
The investigation revealed that government contracts were awarded to the president's cronies without any public bidding process.
The regime's stability relied less on popular support than on a tight-knit network of cronies who controlled the nation's primary industries and security apparatus.
Almost always used in the plural form; the singular 'crony' is rare in modern usage.