City Conquerers: Spacing in the Wealth Elite

Isabell Stamm and Eva-Maria Gajek

In this project, we study how the wealth elite actively positions itself and its material goods in the city. The concept of spacing, which refers to this active positioning, provides the analytical backbone for this endeavor; the empirical design compares multiple cities in Germany. As a first case, we examine how seven of the richest families in Germany engage in spacing in the city of Essen as representative  of the concentration of wealth in West German cities along the River Rhine. Using a variety of sources including historical maps, address books, register entries, and news articles, we trace how these seven families position their firms, their private homes, and their philanthropic engagement throughout their upward mobility into the wealth elite and until the present day, covering the period from 1945 to 2024. Prelimary findings show remarkable similarities in the locations the families choose for their firms, private homes, and social engagement as well as in the timing of their positioning. Eventually, these spacing activities not only contribute to the families occupying a considerable area within the city, living at the best addresses, and influencing city infrastructure but also form a typical pattern of social upward moblity particular to the families’ class trajectory. For our next case we will study the city of Potsdam. This project is also part of the research focus “Wealth and Social Inequality.”