Upper class

The term upper class refers to a group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Often members of an upper class do not have to work for a living, as they are supported by earned or inherited investments. Members of an upper class often have power over other people as employers or landlords, or sometimes as members of a government. The term "upper class" has had a complex range of meanings and usages, and in the 21st century many people are uncomfortable with it as a term and as a concept. 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. Nowadays a high income can be enough on its own for a person to be considered upper class in some countries, especially United States. Other factors such are attitudes, tastes, education, occupation and accents are also often relevant.

See Also

• aristocracy
• bourgeoisie
• class system
• elite
• gentry
• high culture
• landed gentry
• middle class
• nobility
• noblesse
• nouveau riche
• oligarchy
• overclass
• Patricanships
• peerage
• reverse snobbery
• snobbery
• szlachta
• U and non-U English
• upper ten thousand