The royal family's sphere of influence and power over Saudi Arabia is both traditionally and currently extremely important. This is seen through their immense wealth as well as the relative poverty of the citizens, which underlines the Aristotelian concept that oligarchists rule in their self-interest rather than in the interest of the people. The strength of governance is very evident compared to similar authoritarian rule in the Middle East and dissent is not that widespread. Saudi Arabia is a good example of an Aristotelian form of oligarchy and it will be interesting to see if the royal family can overcome the waves of dissent present in the Middle East.