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Abstract:
From Occupy Wall Street and the Panama Papers to the Russian oligarchs, their yachts and real estate – in recent years, the rich and super-rich as well as the finance industry and the services they offer to the rich have become the subject of much public and academic debate. In this light, the role the rich and super-rich play in perpetuating and exacerbating social inequalities has been brought sharply into focus. Many of the practices, institutions, and assets involved have a long history to look back on, which has only recently received more attention. However, historical research plays an essential role in explaining the perseverance of wealth by asking the following questions: Who were the rich? What did the rich do with their assets? How exactly did wealth shape their relations – and how did their relations shape their wealth? And, not least: How did the rich manage to stay rich – despite the challenges of the age of extremes, including severe economic crises and two world wars?
