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Old money is asocial class of the rich who have been able to maintain their wealth over multiple generations, in contrast withnew money whose wealth has been acquired within its own generation. The term often refers to perceived members of thede factoaristocracy in societies that historically lack an officially established aristocratic class (such as the United States).
Wealth—assets held by an individual or by a household—provides an important dimension ofsocial stratification because it can pass from generation to generation, ensuring that a family's offspring will remain financially stable. Families with "old money" use accumulated assets or savings to bridge interruptions in income, thus guarding against downwardsocial mobility.[1]
According to anthropologistW. Lloyd Warner, the upper class in the United States during the 1930s was divided into the upper-upper and the lower-upper classes.[2] The lower-upper were those who did not come from traditionally wealthy families. They earned their money from investments and business, rather thaninheritance. Examples includeJohn D. Rockefeller, whose father was a travelingpeddler;Cornelius Vanderbilt, whose father operated aferry inNew York Harbor;Henry Flagler, who was the son of a Presbyterian minister; andAndrew Carnegie, who was the son of a Scottish weaver. In contrast to thenouveau riche, whose riches were acquired in their own generation, the upper-upper class were families viewed as "quasi-aristocratic" and "high society".[2] These families had been rich and prominent in thepolitics of the United States for generations. In many cases, their prominence predated theAmerican Revolution (1765–1783), when their ancestors had accumulated fortunes as members of the eliteplanter class, or asmerchants, slave traders,ship-owners, orfur traders. In many cases, especially inVirginia,Maryland, and theCarolinas, the source of these families' wealth were vast tracts of land granted to their ancestors bythe Crown or acquired byheadright during thecolonial period. These planter class families were often related to each other through intermarriage for more than 300 years, and are sometimes known asAmerican gentry. They produced severalFounding Fathers of the United States and a number of earlypresidents of the United States.
In the early 20th century, the upper-upper class were seen as more prestigious than the nouveau riche even if the nouveau riche had more wealth.[2] During the late 19th century and early 20th century, the nouveau rich flaunted their wealth by buildingGilded Age mansions that emulated the palaces ofEuropean royalty, while old money was more conservative. American "Old money" families tend to adhere to variousMainline Protestant denominations;Episcopalians[3][4] andPresbyterians are the most prevalent among them.[5]
George and Martha Washington with their Grandchildren. George Washington Parke Custis, and Eleanor ParkeCustis
TheCustis FamilyFFV dates back to the mid-seventeenth century, four members of the Custis family immigrated to the colony of Virginia: Anne,John Custis II, William II, and their uncle John I. John II was the most successful at establishing the family name into prominent society, advancing into the Virginia ruling class by serving as a sheriff, justice of the peace, surveyor, coroner, militia officer, member of the House of Burgess, and Councillor. John II also built a large mansion that he called Arlington. His descendants included his sonJohn Custis III and grandson John IV, who was born in August 1678.John Custis IV was the father ofDaniel Parke Custis,Martha Dandridge Custis's first husband, Martha's Second husband wasGeorge Washington. Making his step grandchildren and wife USA First Inaugural Family
TheGriswold Family of Connecticut made their fortune in shipping, banking, railroads, and industry. They have been prominent in American politics, producing five governors and numerous senators and congressmen.
TheHarrisons ofBerkley,FFV, of Virginia is an American political family, of theCommonwealth of Virginia, whose direct descendants include aFounding Father of the United States,Benjamin Harrison V, and threeU. S. presidents:William Henry Harrison,Benjamin Harrison, andAbraham Lincoln. The Virginia Harrison family consists primarily of two branches with origins in northern England. One branch, led by Benjamin Harrison I, journeyed by way ofBermuda to Virginia before 1633 and settled along theJames River where they became wealthyplanters; they are often referred to as the James River Harrisons. Successive generations of this branch served in the legislature of the Colony of Virginia, including Benjamin V, who was a signatory of theDeclaration of Independence and later governor of Virginia. This branch of the Harrison family produced President William Henry Harrison, Benjamin V's son, and President Benjamin Harrison, William Henry's grandson, as well as another Virginia governor,Albertis Harrison. The family also includes two Chicago mayors and members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. The other branch of the Virginia Harrisons emigrated from Britain toNew England in 1687 and moved south to theShenandoah Valley of Virginia 50 years later; they were led by Isaiah Harrison. This branch most likely descended from an interim chaplain of theJamestown Colony, Rev. Thomas Harrison, who was kindred to the James River Harrisons, but by 1650 had returned to England. President Abraham Lincoln descended from the Shenandoah Valley Harrisons, as did entertainerElvis Presley. This branch of the family also included the founders ofHarrisonburg andDayton and physicianJ. Hartwell Harrison, who was part of the medical team that accomplished the world's first successfulkidney transplant surgery.
Arms of the Van Watervliet family. TheVan Everinghe van Watervliet family (eventually simplified and Anglicized to Van Every and Van Avery) wereDutch barons who first amassed a fortune as brewers, land owners, and high governmental officials in the old country in the mid-16th Century. Migrating to North America in the mid-17th Century they continued to become prominent smiths,fur traders, and land owners from the founding ofBeverwijck, present day Albany, New York, through the American Revolution. The city ofWatervliet, New York, is likely named after the family's originalridderhofstede (knightly estate) in the County of Zeeland. The first members were granted a warrant as sole suppliers of arms and armor toFort Orange, were active in theAlbany Convention duringLeisler's Rebellion, and were close associates of the Van Rensselaers. Later, one member took the Oath of Secrecy as aSon of Liberty, served as Chairman of theSchenectadyCommittee of Correspondence and as a Senator in the newly-formedNew York Assembly. Several served as officers in the militia during the Revolution, including inVan Rensselaer's Regiment, and one served alongsideGeorge Washington from 1775-1780, including the bitter winter atValley Forge and theCrossing of the Delaware. Later generations include industrialists, hoteliers, inventors, professional athletes, and writers, and share bloodlines with George Washington,John Adams,Benjamin Franklin, andPhilip Schuyler.
TheAstor family made their fortune in the 18th century, through fur trading, real estate, the hotel industry, and other investments.
TheForbes family of Boston made their fortune in the shipping and later railroad industries as well as other investments. They have been a prominent wealthy family in the United States for 200 years.
The Hartwick family is of mainlyEnglish andGerman descent, and their ancestry and fortune predates theAmerican Revolution. The Hartwicks have produced several politicians and military generals, such asEdward Hartwick. ByWorld War I, the family-controlled most of the lumber in the United States. The Hartwick's philanthropic works include the founding ofHartwick College, andHartwick Pines State Park.
TheDu Pont family fortune began in 1803, but they became an extraordinarily wealthy family by sellinggunpowder during theAmerican Civil War. ByWorld War I, the DuPont family produced virtually all American gunpowder. In 1968, Ferdinand Lundberg declared the Du Pont fortune to be America's largest family fortune.[22] As of 2008[update]E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company ranked 81st on the Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporations.[23]
TheVan Leer family of Pennsylvania made their fortune in the iron business. They have been prominent in academia, business, and American politics. Descendants include successful entrepreneurs, governors, congressmen, university presidents, and university founders.
Although many "old money" individuals do not rank as high on the list ofForbes 400 richest Americans as their ancestors did, their wealth continues to grow. Many families increased their holdings by investment strategies such as the pooling of resources.[26]: 115 For example, theRockefeller family's estimated net worth of $1 billion in the 1930s grew to $8.5 billion by 2000—that is, not adjusted for inflation. In 60 years, four of the richest families in the United States increased their combined $2–4 billion in 1937 to $38 billion without holding large shares in emerging industries. When adjusted for inflation, the actual dollar wealth of many of these families has shrunk since the '30s.[26]: 115 [27]: 2
From aprivate wealth manager's perspective, "old money" can be classified into two: active "old money" and passive "old money". The former includes inheritors who, despite the inherited wealth at their disposal or that which they can access in the future, choose to pursue their own career or set up their own businesses.[28]Paris Hilton andSir Stelios Haji-Ioannou did this. On the other hand, passive "old money" are the idle rich or those who are not wealth producers.[28]
"Old money" contrasts with thenouveau riche andparvenus. These fall under the category "new money" (those not from traditionally wealthy families).
TheRothschild family, as an example, established finance houses across Europe from the 18th century and was ennobled by theHabsburg emperor andQueen Victoria. Throughout the 19th century, they controlled the largest fortune in the world, in today's terms many hundreds of billions. The family has, at least to some extent, maintained its wealth for over two centuries.
On the other hand, inBritain, the term generally exclusively refers to thenobility – that is, thepeerage andlanded gentry – who traditionally live off the land inherited paternally.[29] The British concept is analogous to good lineage and it is not uncommon to find someone with "old money" who is actually poor orinsolvent.[30] By 2001, however, those belonging to this category—the aristocratic landowners—are still part of the wealthiest list in the United Kingdom.[31] For instance, theDuke of Westminster, by way of hisGrosvenor estate, owns large swaths of properties in London that include 200 acres ofBelgravia and 100 acres ofMayfair.[32] There is also the case ofViscount Portman, who is the owner of 100 acres of land north ofOxford Street.
Many countries had wealth-basedrestrictions on voting. In France, out of a nation of 27 million people, only 80,000 to 90,000 were allowed to vote in the1820 French legislative election and the richest one-quarter of them had two votes.[33]
^Scholz, Claudia W.; Juanita M. Firestone (2007)."Wealth". In George Ritzer (ed.).Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology. Blackwell Reference Online. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.ISBN978-1405124331.
^abW. Williams, Peter (2016).Religion, Art, and Money: Episcopalians and American Culture from the Civil War to the Great Depression. University of North Carolina Press. p. 176.ISBN9781469626987.The names of fashionable families who were already Episcopalian, like the Morgans, or those, like the Fricks, who now became so, goes on interminably: Aldrich, Astor, Biddle, Booth, Brown, Du Pont, Firestone, Ford, Gardner, Mellon, Morgan, Procter, the Vanderbilt, Whitney. Episcopalian branches of the Baptist Rockefellers and Jewish Guggenheims even appeared on these family trees.
^Davidson, James D.; Pyle, Ralph E.; Reyes, David V. (1995). "Persistence and Change in the Protestant Establishment, 1930–1992".Social Forces.74 (1): 157–175 [p. 164].doi:10.1093/sf/74.1.157.JSTOR2580627.
^Emory G. Evans, " Corbin, Richard (1713 or 1714-20 May 1790)" in Dictionary of Virginia Biography, Vol. 3, pp. 466-468 also available athttps://ehttps[permanent dead link]://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/dvb/bio.asp?b=Corbin_Richard/
^abEssvale Corporation Limited (2008).Business Knowledge for IT in Private Wealth Management: A Complete Handbook for IT Professionals. London: Essvale Corporation Limited. p. 45.ISBN9780955412493.
^Ferguson, Niall (1 November 1999).The House of Rothschild: Money's Prophets: 1798-1848. Vol. 1 (First ed.). New York: Penguin Books. p. 481‒85.ISBN0140240845.
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