old money
Generational family fortune
Old money refers to wealth that has been in a family for multiple generations, as opposed to fortunes recently acquired.
The term often carries connotations of established social status, refined manners, and understated taste: old money families who summer in Newport, She has that old money elegance.
Old money implies a certain restraint—the wealthy who don't flaunt it, whose homes are tasteful rather than flashy.
The contrast with new money or nouveau riche is often implicit.
Family line of descent
- pedigreeRecord of descent
- genealogyStudy of family descent
- dynastySuccessive family rulers
- bloodlineAncestry through generations
heritage · forebears · progenitors · birthright · blueblood · patrician · aristocrat · noble birth
Formally introduced young woman
- cotillionFormal society dance event
- finishing schoolInstitution teaching etiquette
- clubOrganization with membership
- societyOrganized communal human existence
socialite · elite · establishment · old guard · patronage · philanthropy · charity ball · gala
Rules of polite conduct
- mannersCustoms of polite conduct
- gentilityRefined social standing
- genteelAffectedly polite or refined
- courtlyRefined and dignified
discretion · understated · restraint · taste · elegance · propriety · breeding · cultivation
Landed aristocratic residence
- chateauFrench country mansion
- castleFortified medieval residence
- mansionLarge, stately home
- country houseGrand rural residence
townhouse · vineyard · grounds · acreage · trust fund · endowment · inheritance · heirlooms
Power to affect others
- connectionsRelationships between things
- accessRight to enter
- prestigeReputation commanding admiration
- statusOne's relative position
power · entitlement · legacy admission · nepotism · insider · networks · opportunities · advantages
ancestry
Family line of descent
bloodline · heritage · forebears · progenitors · birthright · blueblood · patrician · aristocrat · noble birth · family tree
debutante
Formally introduced young woman
- cotillionFormal society dance event
- finishing schoolInstitution teaching etiquette
- clubOrganization with membership
society · socialite · elite · establishment · old guard · patronage · philanthropy · charity ball · gala · season
etiquette
Rules of polite conduct
courtly · discretion · understated · restraint · taste · elegance · propriety · breeding · cultivation · decorum
manor
Landed aristocratic residence
country house · townhouse · vineyard · grounds · acreage · trust fund · endowment · inheritance · heirlooms · antiques
influence
Power to affect others
- connectionsRelationships between things
- accessRight to enter
- prestigeReputation commanding admiration
status · power · entitlement · legacy admission · nepotism · insider · networks · opportunities · advantages · head start
- Elite Familiesroyalty, nobility, aristocrats, dynasties, blue bloods
- Gilded Age LiteratureMark Twain, Henry James, Edith Wharton, The Gilded Age, Huckleberry Finn
- old moneyblue blood, trust fund, private wealth, endowment, pedigree
- Affluencewealth, wealthy, affluence, prestige, elite
- eliteelite, elites, aristocrats, nobility, best
- eliteselites, plutocrats, oligarchs, aristocrats, blue bloods
old moneynew money
Self-earned, not inherited wealth
nouveau riche · self-made wealth · parvenu · arriviste · self-made millionaire
old moneypoverty
Severe lack of resources
no money · working class · poor · destitution · destitute