Old Money

'Old Money' is the inside story of American families and their journey from an agrarian money based economy into industrial capitalism. It provides unique insights into what it meant to be rich as opposed to wealthy and why that mattered. Old money is not so much a matter of accumulated stacks of currency in the closet as it is a knowledge based way of living. 2021 is a time of financial transition which mirrors many of the same pressures on the individual as the late 1890s and early 1900s. How does a person invent or develop a methodology for producing profit in an economy that is not yet defined? Who would have knowledge or networks to support such an effort? I have used the insights from this book in many different circumstances and environments, organizational challenges and personal projects. This is a great book which should have a place on any serious entrepreneur's shelf.

This is a perfectly good book. Not great book in the sense of works that change your philosophy (as might "The Art of War" or "The Prince"), but good in the sense of a book that gives you a useful map of unfamiliar terrain.The value you derive from this book will depend on your point of view. My point of view is as a child that grew up in southern California of middle-class mid-western parents. My father was one sort of engineer, and I am another. The culture Aldrich ably describes is entirely alien from anything in my experience, and not of immediate significance. The book title could have been "Old Money on Mars" and the contents would have meant pretty much the same (aside from surprise over folk on Mars).Also, suddenly the odd references in old Catherine Hepburn movies have gained meaning.Aldrich has an odd rhythm of expression. This threw me off for a bit, but seems to be product of his "class" and education. Once you get past the odd rhythm, the remaining text is easier to read.It seems that Aldrich and much of his "class" are both caught up in a common mythology, and troubled by the unclear coupling with reality. Aldrich tries to be objective, but is also clearly embedded within that micro-culture.This is a good book, it provided a map to a place I did not know existed.Update:Incidental to the main subject of the book, the author provides an unfamiliar perspective on historic figures Huey Long, JP Morgan, and Theodore Roosevelt. After some reflection, that different perspective served as the missing bit to a puzzle - and (for me) suddenly the current economic mess makes a lot more sense.So the book did provide a significant insight (if perhaps unintentionally).

Hint: you can skim the first and last two chapters and learn all you could ever want to know about the OLD RICH.In a golden nutshell;Old Money likes old schools, old clubs and old stuff.Old Money likes other Old Money.Old Money REALLY likes MONEY.Old Money is bigoted (for the most part.)Old Money is tradition and duty bound to serve the greater good, except when it's not.Nelson Aldrich REALLY likes the word "invidious."I'd only advise buying this book if you are SERIOUSLY interested in the subject. It's not a breezy, humorous read like (outsider) Paul Fussell's "Class." Aldrich doesn't write about what Old Money wears or what kind of cars it drives; he takes a microscope to what drives Old Money, while never betraying his class by revealing anything terribly unflattering that we didn't already know. And, he wants us to KNOW that he's no lightweight rich guy dilettante! Alors! M. Aldrich parle le Francais, ou bien, il a un bon dictionnaire Francais! Qu'importe? In English or in French, this is navel gazing at its most erudite.The book is particularly enjoyable when he writes about recognizable figures; J.P. Morgan, Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, JFK, Tommy Hitchcock, etc. Curiously, women do not figure prominently in Aldrich's Old Money enclave. Aldrich does eventually acknowledge Eleanor Roosevelt (quite well done), Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Doris Duke.The last two chapters are the best. "The Prince and the People" and "Hemingway's Curse" sum things up nicely, explaining exactly why Old Money has painted itself into a jewel encrusted corner.One complaint: the index could have been more concise. For example, Aldrich draws a clear distinction between patricians and aristocrats, two words often thought of as synonymous. Because of this, his definitions should appear in the index, yet his index is made up exclusively of proper names. This is odd for an esoteric book that puts forth so many theories.PS: After reading this, DO read Michael Gross' 740 Park. Gross tells Old Rich tales that Aldrich wouldn't touch. Reading 740 Park is like gobbling a gooey ice cream sundae after dutifully nibbling Aldrich's hollandaise covered spinach.

I learned a lot, several times over, while reading this book. By several times over, I mean there is quite a bit of repetition of ideas and thoughts. But that being said, I found the concepts presented as interesting as well as disturbing. The authors main contention is that Old Money heirs have nothing to do with their lives, nothing to justify their work less lifestyle of luxury, and have created a rationalization of setting a high moral standard and set of values for everybody to look up to. In other words, we would all be eating cabbage and kielbasa and drinking beer endlessly in America if the Old Money crowd had not taught us to appreciate filet mignon and caviar and champagne. So that is their purpose that justifies all their machinations to avoid tax and other fiscal responsibility. Please! I do not mean that this book is without interest, for it is written by a member of Old Money and his personal story will fascinate you. I believe too that it is an interesting look into rationalization that everyone does to some degree, from the adulterer to the bank robber to the robber baron to the heirs of Old Money.

Very well written book and, even if it was written in the 90s, it is still surprisingly current and valid.

aok