History Main / OldMoney

The thing about wealth is that it tends to have a sort of inertia to it. It's hard to gain, but once you have it, it takes some doing to lose it. Having the resources to invest, or what Creator/KarlMarx called the "means of production," means that it's easier to keep what you have and even make more. And what do you do with all that when you're old and gray? Pass it on to your children, of course. "Old money" refers to families that have been wealthy for many generations and maintain their lifestyle through stewardship of an existing family fortune.

* In ''[[FanFic/SovereignGFCOrigins Origins]]'', a ''MassEffect''[=/=]''StarWars''[=/=]''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}''[=/=]''[[spoiler: [=Halo=]'']] MassiveMultiplayerCrossover, several of the large weapon-makers (Tediore, Torgue, Jakobs, and to a lesser extent Maliwan) exist because of this trope. Family ties [[ThickerThanWater gain one much power]] in Jakobs and Tediore circles since both companies are controlled by wealthy families. Jakobs is your typical SelfMadeMan story while Tediore was created to give the [[IdleRich lazy]] UpperClassTwit Thalia something to "do" (pretend to run the company while other more competent people do the real work).

* In ''Literature/TheForsyteSaga'', the Forsyte clan is shown becoming "Old Money". The old generation (Old Jolyon and his brothers James and Timothy) [[SelfMadeMan gained their money in business]]. Their children (Young Jolyon and Soames) are a transitory generation, but already fully genteel. Soames' daughter Fleur is considered a good match for Michael Mont who is an aristocrat. They are definitely high and contrasted with people who gained money in World War I and are NouveauRiche.
* In ''Literature/TheGreatGatsby'', Tom Buchanan and Daisy come from old money and high society. It's put in contrast with Jay Gatsby, who is NuveauRiche and must engage in ConspicuousConsumption to appear to fit in.

* In ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales'', Scrooge, a SelfMadeMan, has had a few clashes with the old money of Duckburg, including one episode where he tries to make good with them by having a status symbol. It doesn't work out and he just throws the item away.

[[IThoughtItMeant If you're thinking of]] the phrase "But what's that in old money?", see UsefulNotes/OldBritishMoney.

* In ''Literature/TheGreatGatsby'', Tom Buchanan and Daisy come from old money and high society. It's put in contrast with Jay Gatsby who gets his vast fortune in shady business.

* Tracy Lord of ''Film/ThePhiladelphiaStory'' (and the remake ''Film/HighSociety'') is part of an old money family (as was her real life inspiration, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Hope_Montgomery_Scott Helen Hope Montgomery Scott]]). When reporter Mike and photographer Liz show up, Tracy and her younger sister decide to troll the magazine people about what they think old money people are like.

[[folder:Theater]]

* In the ''{{WesternAnimation/Beetlejuice}}'' cartoon, Beetlejuice's parents want to get into a club allowing onlyy the "oldest and moldiest" of families. The episode is about Beetlejuice and Lydia finding proof his family belongs there.

* In the ''{{WesternAnimation/Beetlejuice}}'' cartoon, Beetlejuice's parents want to get into a club allowing on the "oldest and moldiest" of families. The episode is about Beetlejuice and Lydia finding proof his family belongs there.

** Logan is society old money as his family, the Huntzbergers, are portrayed as even older money or actually wealthier and habing more influence, owning several newspapers, and considered the Gilmores to be below them.

-->--'''John Raese'''

They tend to display their wealth in SimpleYetOpulent ways, in contrast to the ConspicuousConsumption of the NouveauRiche (such as having unwritten style rules, like which kind of HighClassGloves to wear to which event). Given the opportunity, however, they might dust off some kind of heirloom that one of their ancestors acquired on or for an important occasion in their family's history. They are often IdleRich, but sometimes will get a job they don't really need to avoid RichBoredom. Of course, sometimes making sure their fortune isn't frittered away by incompetent underlings or their own {{Inadequate Inheritor}}s is a full-time job in and of itself.

* The Gilmore clan on ''Series/GilmoreGirls'' are considered Connecticut old money as they can date their ancestry and money back to the original pilgrims on ''The Mayflower'', as Rory once mentioned that fact to her boyfriend, Logan. Logan himself is also society old money as his family, the Huntzbergers, are portrayed as even older money, owning several newspapers, and considered the Gilmores to be below them.

** Lady Sybil is ''very'' old money; she is in fact the richest woman in Ankh-Morpork. Through a combination of simple tastes and old stuff never wearing out, she also manages to never spend money on personal items. She is, however, very generous to various charities including a dragon sanctuary and a hospital. Shortly before meeting her for the first time in ''Discworld/GuardsGuards, Vimes reflects that Old Money is supposed to be better than New Money, but he's never seen enough money to tell the difference.

* In ''[[FanFic/SovereignGFCOrigins Origins]]'', a ''MassEffect''[=/=]''StarWars''[=/=]''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}[[spoiler:''[=/=]''[=Halo=]'']] MassiveMultiplayerCrossover, several of the large weapon-makers (Tediore, Torgue, Jakobs, and to a lesser extent Maliwan) exist because of this trope. Family ties [[ThickerThanWater gain one much power]] in Jakobs and Tediore circles since both companies are controlled by wealthy families. Jakobs is your typical SelfMadeMan story while Tediore was created to give the [[IdleRich lazy]] UpperClassTwit Thalia something to "do" (pretend to run the company while other more competent people do the real work).

The BlueBlood may also act as {{Foil}} for the OldMoney. BlueBlood implies ''nobility'' and background either military or civil servant career, whilst OldMoney is heavily connected to ''bourgeoisie'' and implies either business or professional background. BlueBlood families tend to pick their career up on public sector, ''especially'' military, whilst the OldMoney families usually run big businesses on private sector.

* ''Film/XMen'':

* Veronica Lodge of ''ArchieComics'' is part of an old money family from New York (based on a real life family from Boston), and her father moved to Riverdale to try (unsuccessfully) to avoid her being a SpoiledBrat like her peers.

** ''Film/XMenApocalypse'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV6Kh6MXtS4 This detailed look]] at Xavier's mansion practically screams this trope. The narrator introduces it as, "In its near 300 years of service, this estate has been the primary residence for New York's elite society." She later adds, "...every effort has been made to preserve its historical and architectural integrity of the above-ground structure." It is [[http://40.media.tumblr.com/ce471449621fcc59ddca13e7447c72a6/tumblr_o5zqob1giB1rplw95o1_1280.png estimated to be worth]] $''75,850,000'' USD (2016)! Charles owns a collection of beautiful vintage cars which are in pristine working condition, and that takes a lot of coin to maintain.

** ''Film/XMenApocalypse'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV6Kh6MXtS4 This detailed look]] at Xavier's mansion practically screams this trope. The narrator introduces it as, "In its near 300 years of service, this estate has been the primary residence for New York's elite society." She later adds, "...every effort has been made to preserve its historical and architectural integrity of the above-ground structure." It is [[http://40.media.tumblr.com/ce471449621fcc59ddca13e7447c72a6/tumblr_o5zqob1giB1rplw95o1_1280.png estimated to be worth]] $''75,850,000'' USD (2016)!

** ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'': Judging by the refined manners of John Howlett and the grandeur of the mansion, James Howlett was born into wealth. However, he learns when he was around 13 years old that his mother Elizabeth had an affair with Thomas Logan, his family's groundskeeper, and is their illegitimate child. After the death of both his stepfather and biological father, James runs away from home, and he has been scratching a living ever since.