the upper class
Society's top tier
The upper class is the highest social stratum, typically defined by inherited wealth, family lineage, or exceptional affluence.
The term implies not just money but social standing—old money, elite education, and access to exclusive institutions: She married into the upper class.
Distinguished from the merely rich, the upper class suggests establishment and pedigree.
- capitalistsOwners of productive wealth
- affluenceAbundance of money
- aristocracyRule by hereditary elite
- eliteSuperior select group
- refinementElegance of manner
gentry · patricians · social register · oligarchs · nobility · magnates · tycoons · haute couture · debutante ball · charity gala · exclusivity · old money · monarchs · landed gentry · estates · country clubs · polo match · financiers
the upper classthe working class
Laborers earning wages
the poor · the proletariat · the masses · commoners · the common people
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