Upper Class is a social status, also known as elite, that represent one percent of the American population but control 23 percent of total wealth.http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/100226-annual-report-middle-class.pdf The upper classes represent institutional leadership, heads of multinational corporations, foundations, universities, owners of lands, stocks and bonds and other assets from which they gain their wealth. Forbes magazine publishes a list of the 400 wealthiest families in America. Of all the wealth represented on the Forbes list, more than half is inherited. The newly rich have vast amounts of money but are not often accepted into old money circles.http://copland.udel.edu/~cmarks/What%20is%20social%20class.htm
Karl Marx, (1818-1883) felt there were two great classes – the owners of the means of production, capitalists and the workers. However, the only thing that the workers own is their ability to work. Marx encouraged these workers to use this power to their advantage. The elite classes are owners of capital and do not define themselves by an occupation, like a white collar professional such as a doctor, lawyer or corporate executive.http://books.google.com/books?id=V1kiW7x6J1MC&pg=PA42&lpg=PA42&dq=Allan+G.+Johnson,+ed+%282000%29.+%22UPPER+CLASS%22.+The+Blackwell+dictionary+of+sociology:&source=bl&ots=YhdLF9pqM6&sig=xPXMncx76soVHP_CpxQcu0DsDcY&hl=en&ei=UmCdTPfRKOfjngfTq901&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBoQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=social%20class&f=false
Sociology of the Upper Class
Members of the upper class are not defined only by income but collective power. The wealth contained within the elite is often expressed as a percentage of all money generated in the country of their primary residence. Many members of the upper class have financial interests that are international in nature, as corporate investments are of importance in and outside of American borders.http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/national.htmlhttp://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html Sociological studies show that 15 to 20 percent of corporate directors who sit on multiple boards are referred to as the inner circle within the corporate community. This community pools 80 to 90 percent of the largest corporations in the country into a tightly-knit clique. Within this clique, there is competition for premium compensation packages, prestige and power.http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/national.html
Some members of the corporate community are indigenous to the elite upper class and some are not but the outsiders are indoctrinated into upper class circles of influence through high-income earnings and stock options.http://www.fma.org/Prague/Papers/Is_there_a_Social_Circle_Premium_in_CEO_Compensation.pdf The elite corporate community comprise 10 percent of the population but through influence, wealth and lobbyists, control 50 percent of the seats in the main governing institutions. It has five times more people in legislative positions than would be expected and are overrepresented in government.http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/national.html It is for this reason the upper class is often referred to as the ruling class in a society.
The Elite Speak Video
A pastor discusses his engagement with the elite as he served as chaplain for those building the Alaskan pipeline. He validated the thought that there is a group of people who control much of the world's resources. He said they are not an evil group. They invited him to sit with them during meetings and counsel them as he had saved the consortium responsible for building the pipeline money on counseling fees for their workers. The chaplain said his work helped ease tensions between management and labor. The ruling elite are "no more of a dozen or so people" he said. He said he observed them living an upper crust lifestyle but are indistinguishable from anyone else walking down the street. Members of the upper class do things like build oil pipelines for billions of dollars that help people throughout the world and themselves.
References
Fast Facts
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Money
Old money, as in generational wealth, typically confers greater status than new money, as in a rags-to-riches scenario.
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Boundaries of privilege
Privileged women contribute to the boundary maintenance of the upper class with residential selection, children's peer groups and schools, elite by-invitation-only social and volunteer organizations and rites of passage such as the debutante presentation.
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CEOs
High CEO pay is attributed to a phenomena cited as the social circle premium which is attributed to wanting to keep up a high social status within a circle of peer firms.
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Securities and Exchange Commission
The SEC required publicly traded companies to disclose the pay components of their top executives in 1992.
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Regulation
Social circle premiums are the strongest among financial CEOs and the weakest among utility CEOs, who are under great scrutiny from regulators.
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Caste system
Status distinctions, like in a caste system, perceived ethnicity is relevent. In the caste system, social distinctions are reinforced by legal and ritual restrictions.
