Context, including social class is an emerging topic of interest in entrepreneurship studies. According to prevailing orthodoxy, to be upper-class is to be anti-enterprise. Aristocrats are defined through their ownership of land and rentier status and portrayed as conservative being focused on stewardship of their estates, rather than engaging with enterprising activities. This case challenges this traditional perception arguing that aristocrats can pursue an entrepreneurial approach to stewardship in contrast with traditional, low-risk, estate management. The focus is upon aristocrat Charlie Gladstone to explore this phenomenon. Charlie is both rentier and serial entrepreneur who engages his entrepreneurial efforts on the economic reinvigoration of his estates and expanding portfolio of entrepreneurial ventures. The case demonstrates that the enriched human, social and economic capital available to the upper-class can be exploited in an entrepreneurial manner.

包括社会阶层在内的背景是企业家精神研究中一个新兴的话题。按照普遍的正统观念，成为上流社会就是反企业。贵族通过对土地的所有权和食客地位的定义而被定义为保守派，他们专注于其财产的管理，而不是从事进取的活动。这种情况挑战了这种传统观念，即与传统的低风险遗产管理相比，贵族可以采用企业家的管理方法。重点是贵族查理·格拉德斯通（Charlie Gladstone）探索这一现象。查理（Charlie）既是食利者又是连续企业家，他致力于企业家的事业，以振兴自己的庄园并扩大企业家的投资组合。