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

Tom Sturridge plays a Russian private banker, Dimitri Sidorov (based on oligarch, and opposition activist, Mikhail Khodorkovsky), while Jeffrey Wright co-stars as the American academic to whom Baranov tells his story. —Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2025

Dano is joined by Jude Law as Putin; Alicia Vikander as Baranov’s beautiful wife Ksenia, who oscillates between a desire for bohemian freedom and wealth and influence, and Will Keen as real-life late oligarch Boris Berezovsky, a former ally of the Russian leader who became an exiled critic. —Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2025

Several other exiles in London — oligarchs and defectors — who died under mysterious circumstances in the early 2000s. —Andy Shaw, Chicago Tribune, 22 Aug. 2025

Such organizational oligarch entrenchment is hardly unique to Target. —Noah Barsky, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025

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

Rhymes for oligarch

• disembark
• matriarch
• meadowlark
• patriarch
• watermark
• arc
• ark
• bark
• barque
• dark
• hark
• lark