But its basic meaning is ancient as it relates to oligarchy - a corrupt, despotic form of government involving a small privileged group - described by Aristotle as "when men of property have the government in their hands".
Russia is a country with an authoritarian political system where power has been highly centralised to the point that its leader can launch an unprovoked, indefensible war on its neighbour Ukraine.
Still, in this time of globalisation, inequality, celebrity tech barons, and the One Percent, oligarchic trends go well beyond Russia and can erode democracies.
Russian oligarchs with their businesses, superyachts, private jets, holiday mansions, football clubs and links to politics fit right in with other members of the wandering global elite, whether those people come from democracies or authoritarian regimes.
Other countries have tycoons with enough power to influence politics and globally just a couple of thousand people hold more wealth than 60 per cent of the world's population.
For years assets have been hidden behind shell firms and front people with massive sums of money held in offshore tax havens as part of a murky global economy. There have long been efforts to reveal details of shadowy financial transactions through data leaks such as the Panama Papers.
So Western attempts to make Russia's elite suffer over the war also highlight what's permitted in the West.
In the words of President Joe Biden last month, the United States and European allies would "find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets. We are coming for your ill-begotten gains".
Spain seized a yacht owned by the chief executive of a Russian state-owned defence conglomerate. France is holding one thought to belong to Igor Sechin, who runs Russian oil giant Rosneft. Italy has requisitioned vessels belonging to two oligarchs. People on social media have been tracking superyachts around the globe.
On Tuesday, the US Government made its first seizure of a superyacht owned by an oligarch with ties to Putin under sanctions imposed after the invasion.
The 78m vessel at the port of Palma de Mallorca, Spain, has a link to this part of the world as it sails under the Cook Islands flag and spent time in New Zealand waters. The Tango is linked to Viktor Vekselberg, a billionaire who runs the Renova Group, and whose US assets are frozen.
Putin isn't the only significant name who crops up in this tangle. Vekselberg was questioned in the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election, in relation to the Stormy Daniels hush-money saga involving former president Donald Trump.
The US has its own moneyed elite funding ridiculously expensive political campaigns with a lack of transparency that erodes public faith in democracy and feeds cynicism. Its political system continues to be ripe for manipulation.
Britain, which is now busy sanctioning oligarchs, had previously run a scheme to attract wealthy investors to resettle there, including rich Russians. A UK parliamentary committee had said in 2020 that Britain had become an international "laundromat" for offshore funds.
That ability to create wealth is an exile's trump card in these times. The most famous member of the Russian elite, Chelsea club owner Roman Abramovich, reportedly has links to five superyachts. He is said to have moved two to Turkey which is welcoming fleeing Russians while sending drones to Ukraine and hosting peace talks. Abramovich and other wealthy Russians also have their eyes on the United Arab Emirates.
The war may have inspired a new crackdown on Russian assets but there are still safe havens elsewhere - and uncomfortable parallels in the West.
