One of my clients is an heir to an Italian Noble House. How do these people still have money hundreds of years later?

even then I feel like after 600 years there would be 1 or 2 fuckups in the family that spend 100mil+ on drugs and clothing, that's what happened with the Duke family, but they're still monstrously wealthy regardless.

I guess the successful people make enough to offset the fuckups

Although I agree with most of your points, there is data to support the claim that social mobility is higher in some Western European countries than in the US. Interestingly, Americans tend to perceive social mobility in their country to be higher than it actually is, whereas Europeans tend to do the opposite.

Here's the relevant article: https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2018/02/14/americans-overestim…

"BobTheBaker" read this article: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-23/how-to-stay-rich-in-…

excerpt: "More than one-third of Italy’s richest people inherited their fortunes, compared with just 29 percent in the U.S. and 2 percent in China, according to a 2014 study of the world’s billionaires by the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Germany has the highest share of inheritor-billionaires among developed economies, 65 percent. Overall, heirs and heiresses make up about half of Western Europe’s billionaires."

Europe is notorious for this shit. Their system is set up where there is a sizeable social net but mobility (up AND down) between social classes is much more difficult than in the U.S. That's one thing I will give this country, there is far more new wealth created here than anywhere else in the western world. EDIT: With that said, it might have to do with Europe being "developed" for longer than the U.S. (note China's percentage of inherited wealth). Rapid development and explosive growth leaves opportunities for the poor to become rich. When there isn't much old money then it needs to be established. The widening wealth gap in the States might be evidence of us heading towards European-like wealth mobility.

To answer your question, it's likely real estate/ land. Which is why the denial of 40 acres and a mule might be the worst thing to ever happen to the black American post-slavery.... but that's another discussion.

This and OP, you make me agree with Bob with everything and that never happens.

Now, nobility titles were technically abolished in Italy, just like in France, Austria and Germany with the transition to Republic. However, the nobility retained much of its land ownership. OPs client likely still owns some Renaissance palace, castle, or even art, which send his net worth up big time.