Noun
(law) An indefeasible right or title, distinguished from a contingent interest, which could be defeated (i.e. cease) if a certain event occurred.
A fixed right granted to an employee, especially under a pension plan.
A stake, often financial, in a particular outcome.
(in the plural) A group of people or organizations with such a stake, especially those that seek to control an existing system or activity from which they derive benefit.
An exceptionally strong interest in protecting or promoting something to one's own advantage.
Synonym: dog in the hunt
Authoritarian political ideologies have a vested interest in promoting fear, a sense of the imminence of takeover by aliens and real diseases are useful material. Susan Sontag
Up against the corporate government, voters find themselves asked to choose between look-alike candidates from two parties vying to see who takes the marching orders from their campaign paymasters and their future employers. The money of vested interest nullifies genuine voter choice and trust. Ralph Nader
God is not a God of the edges, with a vested interest in beginnings. God is the God of the whole show. John Polkinghorne
Ideas may be superior to vested interest. They are also very often the children of vested interest. John Kenneth Galbraith
For us Europeans, Africa as a neighboring continent is of prime importance. The development of African countries is in our very own vested interest. We, as Germans, but also we, as members of the European Union, will have to deal with this. Angela Merkel
I think people in power have a vested interest to oppose critical thinking. Carl Sagan