Abstract: What does it means to be wealthy? Do possessors of significant wealth act in distinct ways that justify considering them a class, an elite or a status group? I explore the implications of various definitions of the wealthy. I review available data for a range of historical societies and then examine if the 1990’s explosion of wealth in the United States created a society with a larger stratum of the wealthy than in previous societies. I conclude by identifying a future research agenda that seeks to relate the relative and changing proportions of the wealthy in various societies to other, often nonquantitative evidence of shared occupational and leisure pursuits, family forms and political action

Consultar: Lachmann, Richard (2013), “Toward a Sociology of Wealth: definitions and historical comparisons”, in Sociologia, Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto, Vol. XXVI, 2013, pág. 11-36