Warning: SPOILERS for The Gilded Age.
With the old ns. new money feud alive and well in is different in that it focuses more on how various families wield their money instead of how those in power flaunt their various royal titles. With such a deeply rooted system of establishing status in an ever-changing world, the effects will certainly ripple down generationally.
With her Dutch heritage backing her, Mrs. Astor was descended from some of the original settlers of New York City. As the gatekeeper into the city's high society, Mrs. Astor exemplified what it meant to be a part of, as Agnes van Rhijn so confidently proclaims, "old New York." Meanwhile, people who have made their fortunes more recently, like the railroad tycoon, George Russell, are considered to be of new money and are not easily let into high society. In The Gilded Age episode 1, Larry Russell (Harry Richardson), Gladys Russell (Taissa Farmiga), and Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson), gather together at Bertha Russell's party, thrown to impress the likes of those that are a part of old New York. As they witness the feud unfolding during a scuffle between Bertha and Aurora Fane (Kelli O'Hara), the Russell's son offers this to Gladys and Marian: "Let the three of us be friends, in spite of everything."
During a time when everyone who wanted to cement themselves in history needed to play into the games set by people like Mrs. Astor, the reality is, the old vs. new money feud has never really gone away in the United States. The Gilded Age is obsessed with money in a way that might seem unusual today, but out of this warfare among the wealthy during the 1800s evolved other systems that continued to label people according to how well they could follow the rules set forth by those that came before them.
There is no set rule on how long a self-made family must be around in order to be considered old money. Families like the Astors may have defined the rather vague term, but ultimately others are destined to rise in their place one day. An interesting example of a new money family eventually being considered old money is the real life Vanderbilt family. In contemporary times, the Vanderbilts are considered to be a prominent fixture among high society in the United States, but they hadn't always been that way.
Seeing how the next of kin in The Gilded Age handle their family's status going forward will be interesting. They seem to be less concerned about the old vs. new money feud that their parents are so wrapped up in, but they also know that they are tasked with great responsibility as they bear the name of their descendants. Whether Larry, Gladys, Marian, or any of the other younger people in the show really care about the deep lines their families have drawn in the sand remains to be seen.
Today, people are still labeled according to their wealth, like in The Forbes 400, a name that is strikingly similar to Mrs. Astor's Four Hundred in The Gilded Age. The game that high society has laid out is a complex web not easily penetrated by newcomers. How the next of kin allow this game to play out will be laced with drama no matter who comes out on top.
The Gilded Age airs Mondays at 9pm on HBO and streams on HBO Max