oligarchy
n.n. a system of government where a small group of people, like a few rich families or powerful leaders, has all the power.
n. a form of government in which power is held by a small, self-appointed elite. Often used to describe a political system where a few individuals or families dominate the state's affairs.
The country was ruled by a powerful oligarchy for decades.
Historians often debate whether the ancient city was a true democracy or a hidden oligarchy controlled by a few wealthy families.
The transition from a monarchy to an oligarchy occurred when the king's power was systematically stripped by a coalition of influential merchants and landowners.
Borrowed from French oligarchie, from Late Latin oligarchia, from Ancient Greek ὀλιγαρχία (oligarkhía), from ὀλίγος (olígos, “few”) + ἀρχή (arkhḗ, “rule”). By surface analysis, oligo- (“few”) + -archy (“rule, command”).