vested interest

noun
1.
a special interest in an existing system, arrangement, or institution for particular personal reasons.
2.
a permanent right given to an employee under a pension plan.
3.
vested interests, the persons, groups, etc., who benefit the most from existing business or financial systems.
Origin
1810-20
Examples from the web for vested interest
  • Understandably, these firms have a vested interest in improved security.
  • Only what is convenient to the agenda or vested interest of the oligarchs is funded.
  • Or, they might have a vested interest in the answer.
  • There is a vested interest in the status quo in the nuclear power industry.
  • The latter have a vested interest in maintaining and sustaining the drug trade.
  • Grateful patients make unofficial payments to their doctors, who have a vested interest in stressing their essential role.
  • They have a vested interest in maintaining their control.
  • The bureaucratic machine has a vested interest in playing cops and robbers.
  • Companies as well have a vested interest in drawing up airtight severance agreements.
  • One of the requirements of a vested interest is that there is no condition attached to it which would render it contingent.
British Dictionary definitions for vested interest

vested interest

noun
1.
(property law) an existing and disposable right to the immediate or future possession and enjoyment of property
2.
a strong personal concern in a state of affairs, system, etc, usually resulting in private gain
3.
a person or group that has such an interest
vested interest in Culture

vested interest definition


A phrase that indicates a deep personal (and possibly financial) interest in some political or economic proposal: “As a major stockholder of the Ford Motor Company, Senator Bilge had a vested interest in legislation restricting the import of Japanese autos.” The plural, vested interests, often refers to powerful, wealthy property holders: “His radical policies enraged vested interests.”

Idioms and Phrases with vested interest

vested interest

A personal stake in something, as in She has a vested interest in keeping the house in her name. This term, first recorded in 1818, uses vested in the sense of “established” or “secured.”