Sure, as I said it’s approximate and there are exceptions.
But entry into the peerage also wasn’t closed off, and sufficient wealth was a fairly common pathway. Get wealthy enough, make a few connections or well-placed donations, and you’d wind up in the House of Lords (e.g., the Rothschilds or William Lever—the “lever” in Unilever).
There were wealthy merchants that weren’t aristocrats even before the industrial revolution really started.
Sure, as I said it’s approximate and there are exceptions.
But entry into the peerage also wasn’t closed off, and sufficient wealth was a fairly common pathway. Get wealthy enough, make a few connections or well-placed donations, and you’d wind up in the House of Lords (e.g., the Rothschilds or William Lever—the “lever” in Unilever).