While sociologists have recognized the importance of wealth for analysis of political power, they have given little attention to wealth as a measure of economic status. Yet from both a sociological and an economic point of view, wealth is an important determinant of status and life chances, especially at the end of the life cycle. In this paper we discuss the role of net worth as a component of status, and, using data from the National Longitudinal Studies of Labor Force Participation, we estimate a status-attainment model for net worth. Net worth includes savings, home equity, business assets, and real estate holdings. We find that (a) the effects of family background are transmitted via education; (b) the effect of education is asymptotic rather than linear; (c) single and divorced persons possess substantially fewer assets, net of other characteristics, than married persons; and (d) net of all other variables, earnings have a substantial effect on net worth. The effects of family background and socioeconomic attainments on net worth suggest that expanded definitions of status may yield more understanding of the stratification system.
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Henretta et al. (1978) studied this question.