Life after Death: How Successful Nineteenth-Century Businessmen Disposed of Their Fortunes

• Published in: The Economic history review 1990-02, Vol.43 (1), p.40-61
• Main Author: Thompson, F. M. L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aristocracy; Bankers; Business; Businesspeople; Daughters; Economic conditions; Grandsons; History; Landowners; Merchants; Nephews; Social classes; Sons; Wealth
• ISSN: 0013-0117; 1468-0289
• DOI: 10.2307/2596512

The traditional view that rich merchants and businessmen of every variety commonly purchased landed estates and acquired gentry or aristocratic status has recently come under strong challenge, from Stone in respect of all centuries since the sixteenth, and from Rubinstein in respect of the nineteenth century. This article tests this revisionism by an analysis of as close to a 100 per cent sample as surviving Death Duty Register records allow, of all individuals who were not hereditary landowners who left very large personal fortunes, of [pound]0.5 million or more. It establishes that the overwhelming majority of these very wealthy businessmen did purchase sizeable landed estates, or their heirs did so. It also shows that the great majority of new men of wealth who did not conform to the estate-purchasing convention were childless and hence lacked dynastic motivation. The minority of wealthy businessmen who established family businesses which continued for more than one generation emerge as belonging to the estate- purchasing group, confirming both the importance of dynastic, family-founding, motives, and the existence of the hybrid social group of the aristocratic bourgeoisie.