Wealth and Social Inequality

Research Focus

The Wealth and Social Inequality Research Focus is conducting a range of projects exploring the significance of private wealth, particularly in families belonging to the wealth elite. It is interested, on the one hand, in practices of wealth reproduction, viewed primarily from the perspective of the owners of large fortunes. These include the significance of wealth for family dynamics, socialization processes in super-rich families, the role of art collections, the importance of friendship networks and philanthropy, and, not least, conflicts around family wealth. The other main area of interest is in the social relevance and social contestation of large fortunes, which might include, for example, the question of how the rich are portrayed in the media. Some projects take a historical perspective by examining long-term continuity in individual wealth and social mobility in the distribution of wealth, while others investigate losses incurred by wealth owners as a result of climate change and how these owners react politically. A final interest lies in exploring what kind of society evolves if private wealth plays an increasingly important role in how life chances are distributed.

The projects use quantitative or qualitative research designs and focus primarily on questions of wealth reproduction in Germany, but some also include comparative studies of different countries.

This research focus is funded by the Leibniz Prize awarded to Jens Beckert.

Current Research Projects

Doctoral Projects