It's not always the selfish and cruel. I think Queen Victoria of Britain would be an excellent example of that, or even Margaret Thatcher. But I think it's also true that people have a will to power and that power corrupts. I think that those who don't tame their selfishness wish for more attention and more power, and so it comes about that many of those who rise to power are the selfish who have practiced cruelty to others to get there. Admiral Ben Moreel said (in a speech),

"The person who uses political power to force others to conform to his ideas seems inevitably to become corrupted by the power he holds. In due course he comes to believe that power and wisdom are the same thing and, since he has power, he must also have wisdom. At this point he begins to lose his ability to distinguish between what is morally right and what is politically expedient."

Why do you think it's the selfish and cruel who rise to the top?

Matthew 6:33 says "“But seek first his (God's) kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." The highest possible good is knowing God and having a relationship with Him. That is what Jesus is talking about here. The only way to know is to be convinced enough to commit.

C.S. Lewis wrote, "God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on gas, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.

"That is the key to history. Terrific energy is expended—civilizations are built up—excellent institutions devised; but each time something goes wrong. Some fatal flaw always brings the selfish and cruel people to the top and it all slides back into misery and ruin. In fact, the machine conks. It seems to start up all right and runs a few yards, and then it breaks down. They are trying to run it on the wrong juice. That is what Satan has done to us humans."

Why should I make God my #1 priority?