Sense of Ownership in Wealthy Families

Isabell Stamm

Research on wealth inequality has shown that a disproportionate amount of business ownership is concentrated in the wealth elite – especially in Germany. This finding alone provides no information on the normative significance that wealthy families attach to this business ownership. What privileges and obligations do they see for themselves as owners? And what is their relationship to non-owners? Based on these questions, the research project develops a typology of the sense of ownership, drawing on sociological and legal contributions to a theory of ownership. Over sixty narrative interviews with members of the wealthiest families in Germany (the 0.01 percent) form the empirical basis. The analysis condenses three types of sense of ownership: fiduciary, venturing, and governing. Each of these types defines in a specific way the relationships between the owning subject, the owned object, and the non-owner, and each goes hand in hand with a typical wealth practice. The project contributes to the understanding of social inequality, the diversity of the wealth elite, and its economic power. It is part of the research focus “Wealth and Social Inequality.” It is part of the Research Focus Wealth and Social Inequality.