<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section needs expansion . You can help by adding to it . (March 2012) </Td> </Tr> <P> Historically in some cultures, members of an upper class often did not have to work for a living, as they were supported by earned or inherited investments (often real estate), although members of the upper class may have had less actual money than merchants . Upper - class status commonly derived from the social position of one's family and not from one's own achievements or wealth . Much of the population that composed the upper class consisted of aristocrats, ruling families, titled people, and religious hierarchs . These people were usually born into their status and historically there was not much movement across class boundaries . </P> <P> In many countries, the term "upper class" was intimately associated with hereditary land ownership . Political power was often in the hands of the landowners in many pre-industrial societies despite there being no legal barriers to land ownership for other social classes . Upper - class landowners in Europe were often also members of the titled nobility, though not necessarily: the prevalence of titles of nobility varied widely from country to country . Some upper classes were almost entirely untitled, for example, the Szlachta of the Polish--Lithuanian Commonwealth . </P> <P> In England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, the "upper class" traditionally comprised the landed gentry and the aristocracy of noble families with hereditary titles . The vast majority of post-medieval aristocratic families originated in the merchant class and were ennobled between the 14th and 19th centuries while intermarrying with the old nobility and gentry . Since the Second World War, the term has come to encompass rich and powerful members of the managerial and professional classes as well . </P>

Who made up the upper middle class during the industrial revolution