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Upper class

Upper class refers to a group of people at the top of a social hierarchy Social hierarchy

Social hierarchy, a multi-tiered pyramid-like social or functional structure having an apex as the centr... 

. Members of an upper class often have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area. The term "upper class" has had a complex range of meanings and usages. In many traditional societies, membership of the upper class was hard or even impossible to acquire by any means other than being born into it. Since the decline of titled nobility, high income, net worth and education attainment as well as occupational prestige have become enough for a person of middle class origins to be considered upper class in some cultures, especially in the United States United States

The United States of America, also known as the United States, the U.S., the U.S.A., a... 

 though in many countries such as the UK and France, financial wealth has little to do with class.

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Upper class refers to a group of people at the top of a social hierarchy Social hierarchy

Social hierarchy, a multi-tiered pyramid-like social or functional structure having an apex as the centr... 

. Members of an upper class often have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.

The term "upper class" has had a complex range of meanings and usages. In many traditional societies, membership of the upper class was hard or even impossible to acquire by any means other than being born into it. Since the decline of titled nobility, high income, net worth and education attainment as well as occupational prestige have become enough for a person of middle class origins to be considered upper class in some cultures, especially in the United States United States

The United States of America, also known as the United States, the U.S., the U.S.A., a... 

 though in many countries such as the UK and France, financial wealth has little to do with class. Despite this chance of upward mobility, the upper class is, according to many sociologists, unattainable to those not born into upper-class families.

However, this view is contested: in the New York Time's Bestseller The Millionaire Next Door, numerous statistics indicate that those with a high net worth most often come from poor and middle class backgrounds. Though this alternate view is itself contested, because the vast majority of "millionaires next door" are households with net worth under $10 million. When the term "millionaire" was coined, a million dollars had the buying power of $20 million 2006 dollars, making these "millionaires next door" not true millionaires in the traditional sense. The people who are truly upper class through the power of their net worth alone are the billionaires and hectomillionaires . Very few non-wealthy people can name a "billionaire next door." The vast majority of billionaires live behind many layers of security, and influence world events through many layers of middle management, and are thus quite insulated from the middle class and other classes of society. The vast majority of billionaires were also born to wealthy parents and had many advantages in life from day one. The HBO documentary Born Rich Born Rich

Born Rich is a 2003 documentary [i] about the experience of growing up as a child i ... 

 gives a good idea of how children of the wealthy upper classes live and how they see the world.

Historical meaning

Historically, members of an upper class often did not have to work for a living as they were supported by earned or inherited investments, although members of the upper class may have had less actual money than merchants. Upper class status commonly derived from the social position of one's family and not from one's own achievements or wealth.

In many countries the term "upper class" was intimately associated with hereditary land ownership and titles. Political power was often in the hands of the landowners in many pre-Industrial societies , despite there being no legal barriers to land ownership for other social classes. Power began to shift from upper class landed families to the general population in the early modern age, leading to marital alliances amongst the two groups providing the foundation for the modern upper classes in the West. Upper class landowners in Europe were often also members of the titled nobility Nobility

Nobility is a traditional hereditary status that exists today in many countries.... 

, though not necessarily: the prevalence of titles of nobility varied widely from country to country. Some upper classes were almost entirely untitled, for example, the szlachta Szlachta

Szlachta was the noble [i] class [i] in Poland [i] and the ... 

 of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, also known as the "Republic of the Two Nations" or "Commonweal... 

.

United States

In the United States United States

The United States of America, also known as the United States, the U.S., the U.S.A., a... 

 in the 18th 18th century

As a means of recording the passage of time [i], the 18th century refers to the century [i] that las ... 

 and 19th centuries 19th century

The 19th century lasted from 1801 [i] through 1900 [i] in the Gregorian calendar [i].
... 

, the term "upper class" was an elitist label that combined wealth and social power, but the connection with land ownership was far weaker in the north than in Europe or the American south where land was often very much in line with the British gentry and nobility. This usage of "upper class" lingered into the 20th century to some degree, associated with the elite of "Old stock Americans" in the north eastern United States. Though today the term is commonly applied to those who have achieved great wealth including mostly what is referred to as the new money or the lower upper class.



Overall the American upper class is mostly comprised of individuals residing in households with net worths over one million dollars, who constitute roughly 3% of the population, and most commonly hold a graduate or professional degree from a prestigious university University

[i], which grants [[academic degree]... 

. However, things look quite different if looked at solely from a perspective of net worth: most millionaires live by modest means, drive non-luxury cars, and do not own luxury homes. Many in this class are very successful professionals such as attorneys, surgeons Surgery

Surgery is the medical specialty that treats disease [i]s or injuries by operative manual and instrumen ... 

, and scientist Scientist

A scientist is an expert [i] in at least one area of science [i] who uses the scientific method [i] to d ... 

s. Yet, many other members of the upper classes are venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, or hold top corporate offices, such as CEO, CFO or Senior Vice President in large companies. Having a significant income from capital gains is also a key characteristic of the upper class, whose great wealth allows some members to earn large capital gains incomes.

The idea of trying to "rise above one's station" is indicative of the middle class Middle class

The middle class, in colloquial usage, consists of those people who have a degree of economic independen... 

 nature of mainstream American culture. In New England New England

New England is a region of the United States [i] located in the northeastern corner of the country. ... 

 there exist enclaves of very old money, self-appointed upper class societies. These individuals are part of what is by many sociologists considered to be the upper upper class. This particular sub-class of the upper-class is only applicable in describing those who were born into upper class families. The lower-upper class on the other hand consists of those who were born into middle class Middle class

The middle class, in colloquial usage, consists of those people who have a degree of economic independen... 

, upper middle class Upper middle class

The upper middle class is a sub-label sometimes applied by sociologists [i] to the social group [i] ... 

, or working class families and who have achieved the status of being upper class.

It is held by some that people can "move up" in class by the accumulation of wealth, though typically most Americans perceive themselves as middle class Middle class

The middle class, in colloquial usage, consists of those people who have a degree of economic independen... 

 despite their income level. To those that perceive themselves as upper class, this view that one can move into the upper class simply by bourgeoisie money-making reflects a middle-class Middle class

The middle class, in colloquial usage, consists of those people who have a degree of economic independen... 

 outlook that overlooks the importance of the adoption of the aristocratic values that distinguishes the upper upper class from the lower upper class .

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, entry to the upper class is still considered difficult, if not impossible to attain unless one is born into it. Marriage into upper-class families rarely results in complete integration, since many factors raise a challenging barrier between the upper, upper middle Upper middle class

The upper middle class is a sub-label sometimes applied by sociologists [i] to the social group [i] ... 

, and middle class Middle class

The middle class, in colloquial usage, consists of those people who have a degree of economic independen... 

es.

Titles, while often considered central to the upper class, are not always strictly so. Both Captain Mark Phillips and Rear-Admiral Timothy Laurence, the respective first and second husbands of HRH The Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal

The Princess Anne, Princess Royal,, is a member of the British Royal Family [i] and the only daughter of... 

 lacked any rank of peerage Peerage

The Peerage is a system of titles [i] of nobility [i] that exists in the United Kingdom [i] and is one p ... 

, yet could scarcely be considered to be anything other than upper class. The same is true of Francis Fulford, who memorably featured in Channel 4 Channel 4

Channel 4 is a public-service [i] television [i] broad... 

's documentary The F***ing Fulfords and who's family has owned estates in Devon Devon

Devon is a large county [i] in South West [i] England [i], border... 

 for over 800 years. That being said, those in possession of an hereditary peerage - for example an Earldom Earl

An Earl or Jarl was an Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian title, meaning "chieftain" and it referred esp... 

 or a Baronetcy Baronet

A baronet or his female equivalent, a baronetess, is the holder of a hereditary title awarded by t... 

 - will, almost invariably be members of the upper class.

In terms of education, it is often considered to be more important where one was educated, as opposed to the level of education attained. Traditionally, upper class children will be raised - at home - by a Nanny for the first few years of life, until old enough to attend a well-established prep school. Moving into secondary education, it is still commonplace for upper-class children to attend one of Britain's prestigious public schools Public school

The term public school has different meanings due to regional differences.... 

 , although it is not unheard of for certain families to send their children to Grammar schools.

Insofar as continuing education goes, this can vary from family to family; it may, in part, be based on the educational history of the family. In the past, both the British Army British Army

The British Army is the land armed forces [i] branch of the British Armed Forces [i].... 

 and Clergy Clergy

Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion [i] ... 

 have been the institutions of choice, but the same can equally apply to the Royal Navy Royal Navy

The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom [i] is the oldest of the British armed services [i] ... 

, or work in the Diplomatic Corps. HRH Prince Harry Prince Harry of Wales

Prince Henry of Wales is the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales [i] and his first wife, the late Diana, Princess of Wales [i] ... 

 of Wales, for instance, has recently completed his training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is the British Army [i] ... 

 in preparation for entry into the Army. Otherwise, Oxbridge and other 'traditional' universities are the most popular sources of higher education for the upper class.

Language, pronunciation and writing style have been, consistently, one of the most reliable indicators of class. The variations between the language employed by the upper classes and those not of the upper classes has, perhaps, been best documented by linguistic Professor Alan Ross's 1954 article on U and non-U English usage. The discussion was perhaps most famously furthered in Noblesse Oblige - and featured contributions from, among others, Nancy Mitford Nancy Mitford

The Hon. Nancy Freeman-Mitford, CBE [i], novelist and biographer.
... 

. Interestingly, the debate was revisited in the mid-seventies, in a publication by Debrett's called 'U and Non-U revisited'. Ross contributed to this volume too, and it is remarkable to notice how little the language changed in the passing of a quarter of a century.



The choice of house, too, is an important feature of the upper classes. While it is true that there are fewer upper class families nowadays that are able to maintain both the well-staffed town house Townhouse

Historically in the United Kingdom [i], Ireland [i] and in some other countries, a townhouse was a resid ... 

 and country house Country house

A country house is a large dwelling [i], such as a mansion [i], located on a country [i] estate [i] ... 

 than earlier in the century, there are still many families which have an hereditary 'seat' somewhere in the country that they have managed to retain: Woburn Abbey Woburn Abbey

Woburn Abbey, near Woburn [i] in Bedfordshire [i], is the seat of the Duke of Bedford [i] ... 

, for example, has been in the family of the Duke of Bedford Duke of Bedford

The titles of Earl or Duke of Bedford were created several times in the Peerage of England [i]. ... 

 for centuries. Many upper class country homes are now open to the public, or have been placed in the care of the National Trust National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as The National T... 

 to aid with the funding of much-needed repairs.

Money and material possessions are often thought of as a less important factor as regards the United Kingdom's upper class than those upper classes of other countries. That is not to say the case is always true, however. Many upper class families will be in possession of works of art by old masters Dutch Golden Age painting

The Dutch Golden Age [i] was a period in Dutch history, generally spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch tr... 

, valuable sculpture or period furniture, having had said pieces handed down through several generations. Indeed, inheriting the vast majority of one's possessions is the traditional form in upper class families. On that point, there is a well-known derisory quotation from Conservative politician Alan Clark Alan Clark

Alan Kenneth Mackenzie Clark PC [i] was a British [i] ... 

, who referred to cabinet colleague Michael Heseltine Michael Heseltine

Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH [i], PC [i] ... 

 as the kind of person who 'bought his own furniture'.

Rest of the World

In Australia Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere [i] c ... 

 , the term "upper class" is now sometimes used pejoratively by the middle and lower classes, as in the stereotypical term, "upper-class twit", and Australian and British people may be more anxious to avoid being labelled "upper class" than their American or Canadian counterparts. For more on this phenomenon, see reverse snobbery, Australian mateship, and class consciousness.

Social class in Canada Canada

Canada is the world's second-largest [i] country by total area, occupying most ... 

, as an observable phenomenon, though more subtle perhaps than in the U.S., is also not as entrenched as in Europe nor as taboo a topic as it is in Britain and Australia, though it remains a matter of controversy .

Social class in the Dominican Republic Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic, is a country located on the eastern two-thirds of the Caribbean [i] ... 

 has remained relatively unchanged over the years. A social class system still exists, and it is popularly understood that the different classes do not mix, especially the first and third classes. The "first" class are the rich, powerful, and celebrated. They also have most control over the country .

See also

  • Ruling class
  • Upper middle class Upper middle class

    The upper middle class is a sub-label sometimes applied by sociologists [i] to the social group [i] ... 

  • Professional class Professional class

    The professional class refers to those individuals identified as professional [i]s. ... 

  • Managerial Class Managerial class

    Managerial class is a term applied to individuals who carry great responsibility within the corporate [i] ... 

  • Gold-collar worker
  • Political Donor Class
  • Social Structure of the United States Social structure of the United States

    There is considerable controversy regarding the Social structure of the United States and it remains a v... 

  • Household income in the United States Household income in the United States

    The Household income in the United States is a measure of private wealth commonly used by the United States [i]... 

  • Six figure income Six figure income

    Six figure income is a term used most commonly in the United States [i] and Canada [i] to describe indiv ... 



References