Before diving into the crux of the issue, it's essential to understand the underlying connotations. "Old money" typically refers to families or individuals who have maintained their wealth over several generations. These families often pride themselves on traditions, lineage, and sometimes even blue-blooded ancestry. In contrast, the term "new money" is used to describe people or families who've acquired wealth in their lifetime, often through innovation, entrepreneurship, or sudden fame.
The problem isn't the definitions but the values and assumptions attached to them.
The vast majority of "old money" families are white, a result of historical advantages and opportunities afforded to them, often at the disproportionate expense and exclusion of people of color. Considering the US context, centuries of systemic racism - from slavery, Jim Crow laws, to discriminatory lending practices - have actively kept Black, Latino, and other communities of color from accumulating generational wealth. By venerating "old money" and its associated sophistication or class, we inadvertently celebrate a system that thrived on racial inequality.
The dichotomy often casts "new money" as flashy, ostentatious, or lacking in class. This not only undermines the hard work, innovation, and resilience of "new money" individuals but also disproportionately impacts people of color, who, due to systemic barriers, are more often in the "new money" category.