How to be rich, and stay rich

The rich stay rich relatively easy, according to the report

By Sarah Toyne BBC News Online personal finance reporter

Forget dreaming of a sugar daddy and get a decent education - it is a much more important factor in the "marriage market", new research suggests.

You don't necessarily have to visit the gym to improve your beauty, although it helps. But it is much more about studying and the education qualifications you gain

Marco Francesconi

For centuries the concept of "marrying up" within society has been seen as an easy way of improving social and economic status.

But according to the Institute of Social and Economic Research, a decent education was on average worth more economically in the long-term than waiting for a rich husband or wife to come along.

However, researchers said that while it can be easy for people from poor backgrounds to improve their chances economically and socially through education, the rich were better at retaining their wealth than poor people were at moving up the social and economic scale.

For better or for worse

Marco Francesconi, co-author of the report, told BBC News Online that seeking a good education was a much better way of getting rich than trying to marry up.

"You don't necessarily have to visit the gym to improve your beauty - although it helps. But it is much more about studying and the educational qualifications you gain," said Dr Francesconi.

A better education ultimately led to a "stock of social and cultural capital" or social networks that could be invaluable.

Using this to maintain social position would be much less hit-and-miss than waiting to marry.

"Even if poor parents can't invest too much - the chances for them to move up in one generation would be pretty high."

This form of social investment would have very long-term consequences 50 years down the line.

Dr Francesconi said that this was because of the "inter-generational benefits" of education.

Education, education

Without a decent education, the chances of social mobility are limited, the report concluded.

A child of a very poor father will have a 34% chance of remaining in the bottom income quarter of society, only a 40% chance of rising above the average income and only a 0.6% chance of reaching the top 10% of society's income bracket.

However, a child of a father who is in the top 5% of earners in society has a 17% chance of increasing social and economic status, a 60% chance of maintaining above average wealth and only a 15% possibility of dropping into the bottom income quarter of society.

People who come from rich families therefore have a better chance of remaining rich.

Dr Francesconi said that the report had some crucial policy implications, and proves why education is so important.

"The report concludes that education is something that all of us should look at."