New Money:
New Money is the term used to describe those that have made their own fortune such as Gatsby. Below are a few others that would be considered New Money during that time.
Babe Ruth
Considered one of the best if not the greatest baseball player ever. Babe Ruth was easily the highest paid athlete in the 1920's making $80,000 a year (more than 1 million today). Babe Ruth salary was $5,000 than President Hoover whose salary was $75,000.
Henry Ford
Known as a master of industry Henry Ford made his fortune by mass producing cars. At his factory's peak a car could be made in 3 minutes. Fords total lifetime wealth is estimated at $54 billion and is ranked number 11 on the United States richest men of all time.
Rockefeller
While he made his fortune in the 19th century Rockefeller was still alive during the 1920's and a very wealthy figure. Rockefeller monopolized the oil industry owning up to 90% of the entire industry. In 1911 the Supreme court broke up Rockefeller's company to 30 smaller ones. However Rockefeller had already made his fortune at that point an insane $340 billion. Rockefeller is the richest man in American history and one of the top 10 richest of all time.
Old Money:
Old Money is the term used to describe those that inherit their fortune through their family such as Daisy. Below are a few others that would be considered Old Money during that time.
The Du Pont Family
Their fortune began in 1803 but greatly increased during WWI selling gunpowder. By 1963 they virtually owned/sold all gunpowder in America. The family at its peak was worth $32 billion. There are supposedly over 2,000 Du Pont family members still living in the U.S. today.
The Astor Family
In the 17th century John Jacob Astor inherited $50 million from his father. Buying real estate and investing he increased the family fortune to $100 million
and becoming one of the richest American families at the time.
and becoming one of the richest American families at the time.