I was thinking more along the lines of dating/marrying

See comment about whoring -- if there was anyone in the group I actually wanted to date or marry, sure I would have. But dating or marrying with an eye to profit = whoring in my book.

or putting your MBA to use.

Never had one of those, myself.

Do people outside of the south still hold debutante stuff?

Yeah, I knew a bunch of people in high school who did that. It was more of a big deal to their parents, though, I suspect.

The Astors were fur traders. The Vanderbilts were railroad men. Cornelius made his money in the 1860s. [link] John Jacob Astor made his money in the early 1800s. [link]

As a side note, when I take visitors to see the mansions in Newport, the two I show them are the Breakers, built by Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Mrs. Astor's Beechwood. The Breakers is humongous and terribly opulent. The great room is 50' x 50' x 50'. Beechwood, by comparison, is much more understated, as befits older money, I suppose.

The other neat thing about Beechwood is that the tour guides are all reenactors, and the show changes with the season. When msbelle and I visited last February, the only folks there were the winter staff, as everyone else was at the main house in NYC for the winter.

The people who really care about social status still read the society pages. That includes people who not a part of it. But no, it is not as pervasive in our culture as it once was - what with the tv and mass media constant entertainment at our finger tips. our culture is much more micro-topic hyper-sensitive (if that makes sense). For example, people swarming here and going apeshit when Joss posts and then a much larger portion of the population not giving a rat's ass who he even is.

Of course, there's still the economic aspect of that kind of opportunity. If you can afford to take an unpaid internship during the summer, you gain networking contacts.

This is very true, and it's somethiing I wish college professors and advisors took more time in explaining to middle-class students -- e.g., it will cost you a few thousand dollars to work for free for a summer (depending on where you live, etc.), but the benefits to your future career will exceed that cost.

OK, this is becoming tiresome for some.

Tom had the meta. Tom always has the meta.

Jessica, your rate card... Oh, nevermind.

Lyra Jane, FWIW, my One Of Many Rightish Colleges recently instituted a policy of offering to fund any student's unpaid summer internship, because so many of the choicest ones are unpaid. They did this after I graduated, of course.

our culture is much more micro-topic hyper-sensitive (if that makes sense). For example, people swarming here and going apeshit when Joss posts and then a much larger portion of the population not giving a rat's ass who he even is.

Good point, and nice parallel. We're much more niche-y than we were even in the 50s.

But dating or marrying with an eye to profit = whoring in my book.

Agreed, but there seems to be a societal agreement that this is not the case. (E.G., anyone think Melania would be with Donald Trump if he didn't have a gazillion dollars? Yet we're still hearing about their "fairy-tale" wedding. Well, it is medieval, in a way.)

But no, it is not as pervasive in our culture as it once was - what with the tv and mass media constant entertainment at our finger tips. our culture is much more micro-topic hyper-sensitive (if that makes sense).

Exactly. Today's Scarlett Johanssen/Gwen Stefani/Fergie from the Roots = yesterday's Brooke Astor.

I will also add that I buy DVDs rather than rent, because I tend not to watch them in a timely manner. If I joined Netflix, I might watch one DVD per month, so for me, buying is cheaper.

Perhaps these were millionaires without enough money to be an entree, but I saw people try and whore (physically and/or business-wise) themselves out to the same group, and it never worked.

It may be different for different social circles. I see a good amount in DC. The money is secondary to the power. Nevertheless, it all comes back to the symbiotic relationship. Each side has to receive a benefit. It's entirely possible that those who tried to whore themselves out provided no incentive to be taken up on the offer.