Just How Rich Are the Bridgertons in the Books and Netflix's Show, Exactly?
Poor Anthony is clearly under considerable stress managing all of his siblings' colossal expenses.
Summary
- Not infrequently, Bridgerton mentions incredible sums of money, which by today's standards can run into the millions.
- This makes the Bridgertons one of the wealthiest families in London.
- The Featheringtons are not far behind.
It's no secret that the events of Bridgerton revolve around the upper echelons of London's high society. The luxurious costumes and lavish lifestyles of the Bridgerton family, as well as other regulars at the Ton, indicate that they are far from having financial problems that could lead to poverty.
In the course of the events of both the book and the series, very large sums of money, even by today's standards, have been mentioned: £5,000 for the identity of Lady Whistledown, Cressida blackmailing Pen for £10,000, £20,000 that Colin wanted to take from the trust fund. However, when recalculated for Regency times, these sums increase dramatically, making them unbelievable by modern standards. Let us find out how rich the Bridgertons are in this context.
Historical Sterling Is Quite Difficult to Calculate in Today's GBP
Using the Bank of England's inflation calculator, we can get an idea. Although the main events of Romancing Mister Bridgerton take place in 1824, the show does not reveal the date, although showrunner Jess Brownell has hinted at 1815. So we will compromise and use 1817 as the base year, the year before Queen Charlotte's death.
As such, £1 in 1817 would be almost £71.8 today and £10,000 — about £718,000 or US$916,000. It's important to keep in mind, however, that the economy of the early 1800s was very different from today's, so depending on how inflation is calculated, the amount could be even higher. For example, Katherine Toran of the Jane Austen Society of North America noted that the £10,000 in Pride and Prejudice could be as much as £12,500,000 by today's standards.
Bear in mind that Pen told Colin that she had such a huge sum to pay Cressida!
How Rich Are the Bridgerton Family?
The wealth gap between the different strata of the population in Regent's London was obviously much more dramatic than it is in the 21st century. For example, an average worker in the early 19th century might receive only a few tens of pounds a year! As for nobles, they could be considered 'rich' if they received an annual income of £500-1000. In other words, the Bridgertons could easily be placed in the top 1% of the richest families of their time. Well, not surprising when the patriarch of the family has the title of Viscount!
However, Viscount is the penultimate rank in the British peerage system. And yet the wealth and estates that Anthony and the family have are very close to those of Earls and Marquesses. In the novels, Julia Quinn wrote that Ben, Colin, and Gregory are rich as earls largely because Anthony has provided for them. He also provides dowries for each of the sisters.
What about the Featheringtons?
We can only praise Anthony for his meticulous management and lack of profligacy! After all, as the story of Lord Archibald Featherington has shown, one can lose their income in a very short time.
However, after Portia and Jack's scheming, as well as the fortunes of Albion Finch and Harry Dankworth, the family is clearly not in need. Penelope, by the way, could certainly support herself without it, earning as Lady Whistledown, but added to the Queen's £5,000 award, the dowry, and Colin's financial fortune and writing, she alone probably easily approaches the Bridgertons' wealth.
Source: Bank of England, JASNA.