A reconsideration of the economic decline of the British aristocracy 1858–2018

Abstract

Historical accounts of the British aristocracy argue its economic decline was owed to anachronistic characteristics, declining land values, and inheritance taxes. We find disconfirming evidence based on the hereditary peerage's probates 1858 to 2018, showing: decline only began after World War I; no links between aristocratic wealth and farmland prices; and a greater role for tax avoidance with respect to inheritance taxes. Aristocrats also followed the rich with their share of wealth dwindling over the 20th century. Together, these arguments suggest the British aristocracy detached economic interests from status characteristics enabling them to persist more effectively than previously thought.