Payment for top people (7)
I believe the answer is:
royalty
I believe this is a double definition.
'payment' is the first definition.
(I know that royalty is a type of payment)
'top people' is the second definition.
(I've seen this before)
'for' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for royalty that I've seen before include "Queen's family" , "payment for literary work?" , "Queens, emperors, etc" , "Payment for use of work" , "Sovereigns" .)