The family from ‘Home Alone’ is so shockingly rich – even the author is surprised

The has gotten to the bottom of the question of just how wealthy the McCallister family at the center of the classic film “Home Alone” is. They even worked with economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago to determine the most accurate answer. And it’s surprising, even for the man who had to worry about family income more than thirty years ago.

But first things first, you might assume that the McCallisters are not your average middle-class family. The inhabited house, which descendant Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) then has to defend against invaders Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern), is ultimately very opulent. And a Christmas trip for the whole family to Paris (with first-class tickets) also has to be paid for first.

The McCallisters are among the wealthiest Americans

Since the house in question is actually located in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka, economists could now use it and the neighborhood to figure out how rich the McCallisters really are. To this end, data on household income in this region in the 1990s, the value of the home, mortgage interest, taxes and insurance were compared.

The result of the for the completed studies: In order for the McCallisters to afford the living conditions seen in 1990’s Home Alone, they had to be among the wealthiest 1% of Chicago’s population. In other words, the family is super rich. And that even came as a surprise to someone who had already dealt with it.

Author Surprised: Thought They Were ‘Upper Middle Class’, But Not ‘Super Rich’

Throughout the entire film Home Alone, there is never any discussion of what Kate (Catherine O’Hara) and Peter McCallister (John Heard) do and how they make their money. But when the film premiered, Todd Strasser, who was best known in German schools for the classic “The Wave,” was hired to write the new version, which was common at the time. And he kind of filled that void.

Since there are mannequins on display in the McCallister house, he decided to make Kate a fashion designer. The only thing mentioned about Peter McCallister is that he is a businessman. But the outcome of the research also comes as a big surprise to Strasser. He simply assumed that with these jobs and their income they belonged to the ‘upper middle class’. It never occurred to him that they were actually “super rich.”