Provided are compositions comprising one or more compounds having a structure comprising a node structure with from four to twelve carbon atoms, one or more (poly)glyceryl groups, and one or more hydrophobic moieties, wherein each of the one or more (poly)glyceryl groups is linked to the node structure by a first primary linking group, the one or more hydrophobic moieties are each independently linked either to the node structure by a primary linking group or to one of the (poly)glyceryl groups by a secondary linking group, and wherein the polyglyceryl thickener has an average degree of glyceryl polymerization of from greater than 3 to less than about 11 and an average number of hydrophobic groups per primary linking group of about 0.35 or greater. Also provided are polyglyceryl compounds, compositions comprising water, a surfactant, and a polyglyceryl thickener, as well as, methods of making polyglyceryl compounds and compositions of the present invention.