inheritocracy

English

Etymology

From inherit +‎ -o- +‎ -cracy.

Noun

inheritocracy (countable and uncountable, plural inheritocracies)

  1. An economic situation in which individuals' prosperity is mainly dependent on inherited wealth rather than income from work or other sources.
    • 1999 January 5, Martin Van Der Weyer, “The merits of the new inheritocracy”, in Daily Mail, page 11:
      Several million people became shareholders for the first time, by subscribing to privatisation issues.
      Another million or two became homeowners, having bought their council houses at bargain prices. new inheritocracy
    • 2015 August 3, Daniel Rigney, “The Politics of Gratitude”, in The New York Times (letter to the editor), page A.18:
      David Brooks ("The Structure of Gratitude," column, July 28) dubiously characterizes American society as a "capitalist meritocracy." I suggest that we are more aptly described as a "capitalist inheritocracy."
    • 2024 November 1, Claer Barrett, “Meet ‘Generation Windfall’: coming to an estate agent near you”, in FT.com‎[1], archived from the original on 1 November 2024:
      The sad fact is, inheritocracy is the only feasible route to owning a property.
      “In London and the south-east, it feels like almost every first-time buyer client has had some kind of help from their parents or grandparents,” says Andrew Montlake, chief executive of Coreco, the mortgage broker.
    • 2025 March 1, “The bequest boom”, in The Economist, page 63:
      The rise of the inheritocracy reflects three factors: increasing wealth, changing demography and slower economic growth.
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:inheritocracy.
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