The Past, the Present, the Future: Self-portrayals of Wealthy Business Owners in the Media

The super-rich rarely discuss their lives in public. On the rare occasion that they do so, provide interesting insights into the self-legitimization strategies. In this article, we study the discursive construction of wealth accumulation through arguments, frames, and metaphors 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 the super-rich and wealthy dynasties.