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It's important to distinguish aristocrats from the merely rich and/or famous.
Bushes and Roosevelt's would be aristocrats as they descend from prominent colonial era landowners and merchants. They have managed to remain prominent and at least somewhat wealthy. Bushes are rather remarkable in this respect, whatever you may think of their politics, every generation, though having a big leg up in life, get jobs and start businesses, then they might go into politics.
Roosevelts keep a low profile, but a number of them till live well on the Gold Coast of LI.
(Teddy branch)
Another distinguishing characteristic of aristocrats is multiple generations serving as military officers. This is still common in the UK if less so here.
Rockefellers, while technically Nuevo riche to some, have taken on the ways of aristocrats, and probably would have been ennobled by the second generation.
Kennedy's descend from a widely disliked social climbing crime kingpin, have continuously tried to buy legitimacy, don't know what a job is, and exhibit a sense that they are entitled to rule despite exhibiting little talent for it. Unlikely to have been ennobled unless we had Blair like PM who would sell titles.
Kardashians are a modern phenomenon, rich and famous for nothing discernible other than the public's willingness to partake of their sex tapes and insipid reality shows. They are uneducated, talentless, and give absolutely nothing back.
Hilton's had potential until the current generation which has done little more than provide a template for other celebutards like the Kardashians.
America certainly does have an aristocracy, and they are based in several cities and not an aristocracy for the entire nation. It's usually based in the old cities like NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, New Orleans. Aristocrati prestige is not only tied to money but the family name.
As for New Orleans, there definitely is an aristocracy. In the elite Uptown society there is a prestige tied with certain last names (rich families who made their fortune over a hundred years ago). Some of the families still have loads of money and some simply ride on their family name but have since lost their large fortunes. These are the families who throw the debutante and mardi gras balls (yes Mardi Gras in New Orleans is actually the culmination of the debutante season where the debs serve as queens or maids of different krewes), Rex or Comus being the most prestigious. This is a society that you cannot "buy" your way into like in new money cities, thus making it aristocratic.
I know this type of society exists in other cities like Boston or NYC but albeit in another form. This country was practically built by aristocratic families.
Aristocracy would rule from the richest or most important city on earth however they might move the capital to a more sudle location to make sure the entire country is not controlled by 1 city so the capital would be in the center of america. People welcome your new capital Wichita, Kansas.
Imagine that when the U.S. became a nation, instead of completely ridding itself of old European notions of aristocracy, the new nation helf onto some aspects of it.
Which city would be the effective capital of this aristocracy today?
If it were the English system of peerage, probably Boston, and New England in general. This girl from Vermont once told me "where I'm from, to be considered 'old money' you had to have ancestors who brought their fortunes with them from England." She was exaggerating for humor's sake, but there you go.
Also, many of them would have "townhouses" in New York, just like the great estates of England had townhouses in London.
There is an aristocracy and it's not even associated with one city. It can be narrowed down to one borough of a city. No need to name. London should be mentioned too though.
They implement their will in DC, so I guess DC could be included too, but they are merely puppets addicted to money.
The original aristocracies in the US were Philadelphia, Boston, NYC, Baltimore, Virginia.
In the history of the nation I would say that it went something like this:
1600's Boston
1700's Philadelphia and the Southern Plantation Society
1800's Boston again
1900's to present New York
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