This article looks at learning and challenges that emerge. empirical research on elites in Chile over the last two decades, with an emphasis on the economic elite. Using 12 semi-structured interviews with experts who have investigated this group in Chile and a specific operationalisation to differentiate the criteria and priorities of each researcher, the results systematise the basis for opting for the elite concept. for others (as a dominant class or aristocracy), the strategies for defining the universe and sample, and the difficulties of this type of study. The results contribute to the reflective analysis of the ways in which contemporary elites are studied, in addition to remaining challenges and future research lines linking this area to other phenomena of relevance to social life.