ELITES- Pathways to Success

European cities are becoming increasingly diverse. The aim of the ELITES, Pathways to Success projects is to explore today’s new (upcoming) elite in Europe’s large cities: successful entrepreneurs, people working in high-skilled jobs and in leadership positions. We are particularly interested in those who by family origin were not yet part of the elite, either because of their working class background or because their parents were immigrants. We will document their pathways to success and learn about how they influence and reshape today’s society. The international ELITES, Pathways to Success research group studies the (upcoming) elites in different national and international projects. In the different national Pathways to Success projects we study success trajectories and intergenerational social mobility among - mostly still invisible - upcoming elite. Graduates who are now working in a professional position or people who successfully started their own business. Compared to their parents they usually made a huge intergenerational mobility leap. We are interested in their views on success and explanations of their own success. With Pathways to Success we hope to further unravel, both for academic and policy purposes, mechanisms that shape and define success.