Entrepreneurs, elites and the ruling class: the changing structure of power and wealth in Australian society

Abstract

In the 1970s and 1980s there was a surge of research concerning power and wealth in Australian society. One line of inquiry was framed in terms of ‘elites’, the other in terms of the ‘ruling class’. This article builds upon both lines of inquiry, exploring the new wave of entrepreneurs and their articulation with the structure of power and wealth. It does so through qualitative interviews with 43 individuals drawn from the Business Review Weekly ‘Rich 200’ list. The article finds that the institutions at the top levels of Australian business and society have become more specialised, diffuse and far-flung than was the case in earlier times. At the very least, it suggests some kind of radical reconfiguration of connections, trust and solidarity between elite groups. It remains a challenge to develop more finely tuned ways of understanding this process in terms of class analysis.