My answer will annoy both camps: it barely matters, because they are barely different. Every big-enough king is effectively an aristocrat too.
- Kings: 50-plus years, any market cap, a handful of elite names - Aristocrats: 25-plus years, S&P 500 only, dozens of names across sectors - The kings list is too concentrated to carry a whole portfolio; the aristocrats give you enough names to diversify - Use aristocrats as the hunting ground, kings as the quality benchmark - Both lists are backward-looking; screen the history, then underwrite the future
DivPlan ($4.99 one-time) tracks both lists with live yields and payout ratios side by side, so the debate becomes a portfolio.