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Sociological Models of Social Class 231

FIGURE 8.5 The U.S. Social Class Ladder

Percentage of
Social Class Education Occupation Income Population

Capitalist Prestigious university Investors and heirs, $1,000,000+ 1%
a few top executives

College or university, Professionals and upper $125,000+ 15%
Upper often with
Middle postgraduate study managers

High school Semiprofessionals and About 34%
Lower or college; lower managers, $60,000
Middle often apprenticeship craftspeople, foremen

High school Factory workers, clerical About 30%
Working workers, low-paid retail $36,000
sales, and craftspeople

Working High school and Laborers, service workers, About 15%
Poor some high school low-paid salespeople $19,000

Underclass Some high school Unemployed and Under 5%
part-time, on welfare $12,000

Source: By the author. Based on Gilbert and Kahl 1998 and Gilbert 2011; income estimates are inflation-adjusted and modified from Duff 1995.

his heirs will be in it (Kaufman 1996). He is probably right, since the children of new
money can ascend into the top part of the capitalist class—if they go to the right schools
and marry old money.
Many in the capitalist class are philanthropic. They establish foundations and give
huge sums to “causes.” Their motives vary. Some feel guilty because they have so much
while others have so little. Others seek prestige, acclaim, or fame. Still others feel a
responsibility—even a sense of fate or destiny—to use their money for doing good. Bill
Gates, who has given more money to the poor and to medical research than anyone else
in history, seems to fall into this latter category.

The Upper Middle Class. Of all the classes, the upper middle class is the one
most shaped by education. Almost all members of this class have at least a With a fortune of $66 billion,
bachelor’s degree, and many have postgraduate degrees in business, manage- Bill Gates, a cofounder of
ment, law, or medicine. These people manage the corporations owned by the Microsoft Corporation, is the
second wealthiest person in
capitalist class, operate their own businesses, or pursue professional careers. the world. His 40,000-square-
As Gilbert and Kahl (1998) say, foot home (sometimes called a
“technopalace”)
[These positions] may not grant prestige equivalent to a title of nobility in Seattle,
in the Germany of Max Weber, but they certainly represent the sign of having Washington, was
“made it” in contemporary America. . . . Their income is sufficient to pur- appraised at
chase houses and cars and travel that become public symbols for all to see $110 million.
and for advertisers to portray with words and pictures that connote
success, glamour, and high style.