Those with the most financial privilege have the least pressure to understand it — so they don’t. And at the 5Cs, they’re everywhere.
As Claremont College students, we think of ourselves as Renaissance men: We study languages and literature; we follow current events, politics and the economy. On this foundation, we fantasize about our illustrious careers; however, among this 10/20 vision, the average 5C student — particularly the wealthy ones that our schools have in abundance— has a blindspot the size of an 18-wheeler: They don’t (and don’t want to) come to terms with their financial privilege.
TSL’s incoming class of 2028 self-reported survey stated that 50% of respondents received no aid but only 33% estimate their parents’ made more than 250k a year — mutually exclusive yet coexisting figures. To me, these income estimations stuck out like men at the Motley but I suspect few stopped to think what the number they entered meant.
The top 10% net worth is, at minimum, a hair under a million dollars. Nationally, 31.2% of college students receive federal need-based aid, while Pomona sits in the mid-tens. This lines up with the fact that more than 15% of 5C students are part of the top 1%. Therefore, a lot of people are grossly underestimating their family’s economic situation while simultaneously underestimating the impact.
As a rule, I think that rich kids misjudge their parents’ wealth, not for a lack of information but for a lack of trying.
At the 5Cs, being successful is good but being rich is dubious. People establish that their family is comfortable and stop there because it’s the easy option.
If you pay no aid, first off, congratulations. You have what 99% of the planet longs for and I don’t think you should feel bad about it — save that for the heirs of the Dutch East India, Shein or Shell Oil fortunes.
You will probably go on to be very rich, which is dope. However, as karmic payment for it, you have a responsibility to try and understand, and subsequently admit, what it means for you.
People, both poorer and richer, mistakenly think that they are middle class. However, only 2% of Americans identify as upper class. Not for a lack of money but because it’s hard to see oneself rubbing elbows with Elon Musk.
Just like a problem, the first step of implementing a solution is realizing that you have one and the solution to the problems of an (icky) upper class must come from within. That, hopefully, starts with you.
Better understanding your family’s situation is simple. For example, those no-aid students should know that a bachelor’s degree from a private school costs, on average, around a quarter of a million dollars. With every one of the 5Cs’ tuition sitting in the upper echelon of national price tags — Mudd consistently ranking as the most expensive college in the world — this stands as a frankly conservative estimate. Attending a private high school in a big city, especially for multiple children, can cost just as much.
Financial aid is based on more than just income, however. Net worth, another major factor, is just as important for understanding your position economically but can be hard to probe without looking at a balance sheet or talking to who your dad furtively calls your “stock guy.” Did your parents pay off the mortgage? Add about a million. Your family owns stocks — and you have a few? That tracks. The top 10% in the US owns 93% of all stocks, worth more than $40 trillion. And that includes those with a net worth of less than a million dollars. The top 1% own about 70% of those trillions. So add some more.
Just like 98% of Americans, whether they are right or wrong, you probably still believe I’m talking about someone else. It’s easy to think that your parents’ wealth isn’t automatically yours, especially if all your parents talk about is ditching you and heading to blue zones. Maybe your trust fund isn’t all that big … and maybe it doesn’t even exist!
Saying “I’m not upper class; my parents are” is a nice thought but it doesn’t hold much water when it comes to your future. I’m sure this imagined difference motivates some of us but the fact is that your familial wealth is stickier than you realize.
So what does all this mean? You have more money familially than you probably thought. Great! … But why does it matter?
The reality is that your wealth is sticky because others’ poverty is too. In our growing oligarchy, the top 10% controls 60% of the wealth and many of you reading this article are poised to be or already part of that group. A peek at the Mudd and CMC average salary out of undergrad will tell you just as much.
Today, our upper and ruling classes are essentially synonymous. Your views and actions matter more and have a greater impact on people, especially on the bottom. I don’t demand that you should try not to be wealthy, give away all your money or enter an enlightened Franciscan state of holier-than-thou destitution. It would be kind of cool … but when you do accept wealth, you must understand the weight of your position.
Many at the Claremont Colleges have idealistic political, social and economic views (perhaps minus choice CMCers) that we flaunt often, imparted upon us by our fiscally flush parents. However, the amount of influence we currently hold is so small in comparison to what we are positioned to wield at our parents’ age. Furthermore, as we get older and richer, we slide to the right fiscally, especially if born into wealth.
Only 4% of regular Americans think that taxes are too low (which they are, in terms of real tax rate) and more than 50% think that they are too high, strongly correlated with the amount that think taxes are unfair. Another strong 59% of Americans have favorable views of our brand of capitalism. Today, the already floundering institutions that were once tasked with enforcing social responsibilities have been old-yeller’d — and people are glad.
The rich, the only group today that can help — or stop hurting — the most vulnerable people stand to lose the most from doing so. To do what’s right takes concerted effort, even sacrifice.
However, the head that bears the crown is trying to pretend it doesn’t notice the weight.
Many of us will benefit from conservative economic policies. To support them is one’s own prerogative. But when you sit on your mink-skin armchair and reminisce about your white rhino hunting days while signing your ballot, don’t delude yourself into believing you worked as hard as the next guy to get where you are. You’re rich; use your advantages but do it with humility.
Parker DeVore, PZ ’27 is from the dirty backwater of Washington state and is looking at photos of your family’s house on Zillow to see if they account for the 2006 remodel of the main bath into the price estimate.
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