# Ten Thousand Pounds a year

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-thousand-pounds-a-year/248406>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [June 3, 2004, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-thousand-pounds-a-year/248406 "2004-06-03T05:52:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\
**Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-thousand-pounds-a-year/248406/1 "2004-06-03T05:52:09Z")

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or how loaded was Darcy, really?

We know that Bingley was doing quite well with about half that much - but in moderner terms, are we talking 6 figures/year? very well off? Rich-rich? Bill Gates?

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**Author:** ![jeevwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@jeevwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeevwoman)\
**Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-thousand-pounds-a-year/248406/2 "2004-06-03T14:34:32Z")

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I’ve no idea the conversion or inflation rates during the time, but my impression was that he didn’t actually ever have to work for a living, so not quite Bill Gates but I would guess a Kennedy grandchild’s worth of funds. Because, remember, to be his wife would really “be something” so it’s got to be a nice living.

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**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\
**Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-thousand-pounds-a-year/248406/3 "2004-06-03T14:53:21Z")

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Practically no one in the Bennet’s social circle had to work, as I recall. Mr Gardiner, Elizabeth’s uncle, was in trade, and Miss Bingley snickered about it. That was what being a landed gentleman meant, really- no work.

Darcy is estimated to be twice as rich as Bingley, and Bingley has lots of cash to throw around. I don’t know the conversion rates, but I’d guess that both of them are at least equivalent to multi-millionaires.

[Found this link](http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/movable_type/2003_archives/002730.html) which speculates that Darcy had about equivalent to $6,000,000 in disposable income. Stuff was more expensive then, though, so his actual modern-type buying power may have been closer to $300,000. Interesting.

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**Author:** ![Walkabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walkabout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walkabout)\
**Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-thousand-pounds-a-year/248406/4 "2004-06-03T14:54:29Z")

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According to [this](http://www.eh.net/ehresources/howmuch/poundq.php) website:

> [@](#):
>
> £382252.84 in the year 2002 has the same “purchase power” as £10000, s, d in the year 1811.

Not Bill Gates, but not bad either.

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**Author:** ![Mithril](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mithril/32/3517_2.png) [@Mithril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithril)\
**Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ten-thousand-pounds-a-year/248406/5 "2004-06-03T15:44:01Z")

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According to a book I read (it might have been ‘What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew’), 10,000 pounds was a round figure that people used to descibe a vast income. Like a modern American referring to a millionaire, when that could mean a person has between one million and 999 million dollars.

By way of comparison: from novels written at the time, I understand that one could live off an income of fifty pounds a year without having to get a job. Most women in this situation would get extra cash by painting lampshades or doing other crafty things and then selling them.