The past, the present, the future: self-portrayals of wealthy business owners in the media

Wallaschek, Stefan and Waitkus, Nora (2025) The past, the present, the future: self-portrayals of wealthy business owners in the media. International Journal of Communication, 19. pp. 908-929. ISSN 1932-8036 (In Press)

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Abstract

The super-rich rarely discuss their lives in public. On the occasions where they do, they provide interesting insights into self-legitimization strategies. In this article, we study the discursive construction of wealth accumulation through themes, drawing on the sociology of cultural processes in the (re-) production of inequality. We use interviews with wealthy German family-business owners in media outlets between 2014 and 2019. Applying thematic analysis, we demonstrate that these wealthy business owners discursively link the past, present, and future of their family and business. By doing so, they emphasize hard work to explain family wealth transitions and how such wealth is accumulated across generations. This temporal self-narration about business success tied to family structure creates a powerful discursive strategy to legitimize their wealth. Our findings contribute to the emerging field of media studies on wealthy dynasties and the super-rich.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2025 The Author(s)
Divisions:	International Inequalities Institute
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory H Social Sciences H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Date Deposited:	18 Feb 2025 16:09
Last Modified:	18 Feb 2025 17:06
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/127351

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