Financial Stratification

Financial stratification refers to the hierarchical ordering of individuals, households, and groups according to their wealth, access to credit, financial assets, and capacity to build and protect economic security. It extends classical analyses of class by focusing on assets and debt rather than income or occupation alone. Karl Marx located stratification in ownership of capital, and Max Weber emphasized market position and life chances. Pierre Bourdieu's work on forms of capital shows how economic resources convert into cultural and social advantages, and Thomas Piketty documented the concentration of wealth at the top. Melvin Oliver and Thomas Shapiro showed how racial histories of exclusion create persistent wealth hierarchies, and Mike Savage and colleagues described British class divisions that combine economic, cultural, and social capital. Research by Martha Poon on credit scoring and by Marion Fourcade and Kieran Healy on classification situations shows how algorithms sort borrowers into tiers of opportunity. Greta Krippner and Gerald Davis examined financialization and its distributional effects. Critics highlight predatory lending, unequal inheritance, and the role of housing markets. Financial stratification remains central to research on inequality, class, race, housing, and social policy.