bigwig

bigwig
    n 1: the most important person in a group or undertaking [syn:
         {kingpin}, {top banana}, {bigwig}]
    

Bigwig \Big"wig`\, n. [Big,a.+ wig.]
   A person of consequence; as, the bigwigs of society. [Jocose]
   [1913 Webster]

         In our youth we have heard him spoken of by the bigwigs
         with extreme condescension.              --Dickens.
   [1913 Webster]
    

71 Moby Thesaurus words for "bigwig":
      Establishment, VIP, aristocracy, baron, barons, big boy,
      big cheese, big gun, big man, big name, big noise, big shot,
      big wheel, bigwigs, boss, brass, brass hat, celebrity, chief,
      cream, dignitary, dignity, elder, elite, establishment, father,
      figure, great man, hotshot, important person, interests, king,
      kingpin, lion, lords of creation, magnate, man of mark, mogul,
      nabob, name, nobility, notability, notable, overlapping,
      panjandrum, person of renown, personage, personality,
      pillar of society, power, power elite, power structure, queen,
      ruling circle, ruling circles, ruling class, sachem, somebody,
      something, the best, the best people, the brass, the great,
      the top, top brass, top people, tycoon, upper class, upper crust,
      very important person, worthy