ABSTRACT
Historic roots and heritage stand for permanence, endurance, perhaps even purity; they engender trust. In business in particular, where trust is of extreme importance, there is an inclination to hire personnel with historic names, especially during times of economic uncertainty. The relationship between money and property remains complicated by the heritage of the hierarchies of prestige, contested or "fuzzy" rights as Verdery called them, and questions over moral and legal legitimacy of ownership that predated communism and that have survived it. Traditionally it recruited members from among noble families devoted to the exercise of Christian virtue and charity. As the divide between nobles and non-nobles is uncertain, and hence must be constantly elaborated, the gentry have developed new ways of maintaining prestige, be it in special clubs and associations or through activities that capture media attention the latter simultaneously exploiting and enhancing the glamour of nobility.
