Cate Blanchett has left fans stunned after describing herself as ‘middle class’ despite a staggering net worth of $95 million.
The Australian actress, 55, was speaking at a press panel at the Cannes Film Festival, where she discussed the importance of giving refugee filmmakers the space to tell their stories.
During the chat, Cate acknowledged her privileged position but left fans stunned when she described herself as ‘middle class’ despite her celebrity status.
“I’m white, I’m privileged, I’m middle class and I think you could be accused of having a bit of a white savior complex,” she said.
But many Australians and Americans were baffled that someone with a net worth of $95 million and a multinational property portfolio would consider themselves ‘middle class’.
Cate Blanchett has left fans stunned after describing herself as ‘middle class’ despite a staggering net worth of $95 million
In the comments section they wrote: ‘Dear middle class?????’; She is upper class. Her net worth is 95 million’; ‘Middle class??’;
“She says ‘middle class’ because she’s not part of the aristocracy?! Lol, what’s the naming convention some people use?’;
‘Middle class. YEP. OK’; ‘So no contact if she considers herself middle class. Maybe a millionaire in the middle of the road….”
However, some Poms pointed out that she was using the term in a strictly British context, where class was traditionally tied to family and heritage, not their bank account.
The Australian actress, 55, was speaking at a press panel at the Cannes Film Festival, where she discussed the importance of giving refugee filmmakers the space to tell their stories.
In Britain, the term ‘upper class’ was historically used to refer to people of the highest social rank, the aristocracy or anyone with a formal title such as duke, marquis, earl, viscount or baron.
When a British person calls himself middle class or upper middle class, he is usually saying that he is comfortable, but not aristocratic.
One fan explained: ‘An important context is that ‘class’ in Britain is more of a social label than a socio-economic label.
‘Historically, class has more to do with your relationship to the aristocracy than with the number on your bank account. The ‘upper class’ usually refers to people with an aristocratic heritage.
During the chat, Cate acknowledged her privileged position but left fans stunned when she described herself as ‘middle class’ despite her celebrity status and privileged background.
“People from the ‘middle class’ can absolutely be very wealthy, but if you don’t have a formal title, you still identify as ‘middle class’.”
Cate was privately educated at an all-girls school in Melbourne and has become a global celebrity and Hollywood star with a net worth of $95 million.
Born and raised in Sydney, Cate is based in Britain and has lived in East Sussex since 2015 with her husband, playwright Andrew Upton, and their four children.
The couple, who tied the knot in 1997, share three sons Dashiell, 22, Roman, 19, and Ignatius, 16, and a daughter Edith, eight.
Born and raised in Sydney, Cate is based in Britain and has lived in East Sussex since 2015 with her husband, playwright Andrew Upton, and their four children.
Cate owns a historic £5 million estate near Crowborough, East Sussex, where she also bought land next to it: a £1.5 million farm with 100 acres.
She also bought a £5million eco-home in Mawgan Porth, Cornwall, in 2020 and has been busy renovating the five-bedroom property.
Cate and her Australian husband Andrew also have property Down Under, as they also own an investment house in Sydney’s CBD.
Earlier this year they also sold their three-bedroom family home in Prahran, Melbourne, for more than $3 million – well above the guide price of $2.25 million to $2.45 million.
