All people want power. It's the closest thing to what those bible thumpers call "free will" that a man or woman can have on this earth. Who doesn't want free will?
Most of us don't have enough. That's what societies do (and should do much better), empower people.
Some people have too much of it, and in those cases, power was usually ill gotten.
What men of power want, and for what they'll do almost anything, is to keep it.