Events

Born to rule: the making and remaking of the British elite

Hosted by the Department of Sociology

In-person and online public event (Sheikh Zayed Theatre, Cheng Kin Ku Building)

Speakers

Professor Sam Friedman

Professor Sam Friedman

Hashi Mohamed

Hashi Mohamed

Professor Aaron Reeves

Professor Aaron Reeves

Professor Lauren Rivera

Professor Lauren Rivera

Dr Faiza Shaheen

Dr Faiza Shaheen

Chair

Professor Suzanne Hall

Professor Suzanne Hall

In Aaron Reeves and Sam Friedman’s new book, which they launch at this event, they provide a uniquely data-rich analysis of the British elite from the Victorian era to today: who gets in, how they get there, what they like and look like, where they go to school, and what politics they perpetuate.

Think of the British elite and familiar caricatures spring to mind. But are today’s power brokers a conservative chumocracy, born to privilege and anointed at Eton and Oxford? Or is a new progressive elite emerging with different values and political instincts? Aaron Reeves and Sam Friedman combed through a trove of data in search of an answer, scrutinizing the profiles, interests, and careers of over 125,000 members of the British elite from the late 1890s to today. At the heart of this meticulously researched study is the historical database of Who’s Who, but the authors also mined genealogical records, examined probate data, and interviewed over 200 leading figures from a wide range of backgrounds and professions to uncover who runs Britain, how they think, and what they want.

Meet our speakers and chair

Sam Friedman (@SamFriedmanSoc) is Professor of Sociology at LSE and co-author of The Class Ceiling: Why it Pays to be Privileged, and author of Comedy and Distinction: the Cultural Currency of a ‘Good’ Sense of Humour. He is the co-editor of The British Journal of Sociology.

Hashi Mohamed (@hm_hashi) is a barrister at Landmark Chambers based in London, practising in planning and environment law. He is the author of People Like Us: What it Takes to Make it in Modern Britain and A Home of One’s Own and A Home of One's Own: Why the Housing Crisis Matters.

Aaron Reeves (@aaronsreeves) is from September 2024 Professor of Sociology at LSE. An award-winning sociologist who has conducted pioneering studies on health and social class, he is the co-editor of the British Journal of Sociology.

Lauren Rivera is the Peter G. Peterson Chair of Corporate Ethics at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. Her research unpacks how the way people define and evaluate merit shapes social inequalities. Her book Pedigree: How Elite Students Get Elite Jobs investigates on-campus recruitment and hiring for elite professional service firms and the roles that social class, gender, and race play in this process. 

Faiza Shaheen (@faizashaheen) is an economist, writer, and commentator. She has over 15 years of experience researching the trends and consequences of inequality, as well as designing policies and campaigns to address the causes of inequality and exclusion. She is the author of Know Your Place: how society sets us up to fail and what we can do about it.

Suzanne Hall is Professor of Sociology at LSE and Head of Department. Her research and teaching explore the intersections of global migration and urban marginalisation. Suzi’s focus is on everyday claims to space and how political economies of displacement shape racial borders, migrant livelihoods, and urban multicultures.

More about this event

This event will be available to watch on LSE Live. LSE Live is the new home for our live streams, allowing you to tune in and join the global debate at LSE, wherever you are in the world. If you can't attend live, a video will be made available shortly afterwards on LSE's YouTube channel.

The Department of Sociology (@LSEsociology) seeks to produce sociology that is public-facing, fully engaged with London as a global city, and with major contemporary debates in the intersection between economy, politics and society – with issues such as financialisation, inequality, migration, urban ecology, and climate change.

Hashtag for this event: #LSEEvents

LSE Blogs

Many speakers at LSE events also write for LSE Blogs, which present research and critical commentary accessibly for a public audience. Follow British Politics and Policy, the Business Review, the Impact BlogEuropean Politics and Policy and the LSE Review of Books to learn more about the debates our events series present.

Live captions

Automated live captions are available at this live event. Please note that this feature uses Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology, or machine generated transcription and is not 100% accurate.

Photography

Photographs taken on behalf of LSE are often used on our social media accounts, website and publications. At events, photographs could include broad shots of the audience and lecture theatre, of speakers during the talk, and of audience members as they participate in the Q&A.

If you are photographed participating in an event Q&A but would not like your photograph to be stored for future use, please contact events@lse.ac.uk.

Podcasts

We aim to make all LSE events available as a podcast subject to receiving permission from the speaker/s to do this, and subject to no technical problems with the recording of the event. Podcasts are normally available 1 week after the event. Podcasts and videos of past events can be found online.

Social Media

Follow LSE public events on X for the latest updates on all our events and ticket releases. 

Livestreams and archive videos of past lectures are shared on our YouTube channel while event podcasts can be found on the LSE Player.

Event updates and other information about what’s happening at LSE can be found on our Facebook page and for live photos from events and around campus, follow us on Instagram

Attending our events in-person or online? Join the conversation using #LSEEvents.

Accessibility

If you are planning to attend this event and would like details on how to get here and what time to arrive, as well as on accessibility and special requirements, please refer to LSE Events FAQ.  LSE aims to ensure that people have equal access to these public events, but please contact the events organiser as far as possible in advance if you have any access requirements so that arrangements, where possible, can be made. If the event is ticketed, please ensure you get in touch in advance of the ticket release date. Access Guides to all our venues can be viewed online.

WIFI Access

LSE has now introduced wireless for guests and visitors in association with 'The Cloud', also in use at many other locations across the UK. If you are on campus visiting for the day or attending a conference or event, you can connect your device to wireless. See more information and create an account at Join the Cloud.
Visitors from other participating institutions are encouraged to use eduroam. If you are having trouble connecting to eduroam, please contact your home institution for assistance.
The Cloud is only intended for guest and visitor access to wifi. Existing LSE staff and students are encouraged to use eduroam instead.
From time to time there are changes to event details so we strongly recommend that if you plan to attend this event you check back on this listing on the day of the event.