The writer is a historian and public speaker
Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos will not live forever, so perhaps they are contemplating how to deploy their billions in the long term. What can the descendants of the mighty aristocracy that dominated Britain from the Middle Ages to the first world war teach them?
The historic elite often marked their social advancement by accumulating landed estates, with great houses at their centre. Agriculture provided the revenue, while the mansions were where you entertained, networked and enjoyed country pursuits.
Musk, by contrast, announced with characteristic brevity he “will own no house” in 2020, before selling his seven properties in California and basing himself in a $50,000, 375 sq ft house in Texas. (He has also bought a large compound there for his family.) He has said he would rather concentrate on “getting us to Mars and helping solve sustainable energy”, than build a “really great house”.
Chris Legard’s family has owned the great house of Scampston Hall in North Yorkshire since the late 17th century. He makes his property sweat to keep it going — it is let out as a wedding venue and has a popular tourist attraction in its walled gardens.
