The Cheatsheet
➺ Friday - Nov. 7, 2025 A weekly pre-dinner briefing for busy professionals who want to know just enough to seem like they know everything, Upper Middle’s “Cheatsheet” is the antidote to asp-y Axios apocrypha – a social briefing for people who care about status, taste, money, and how they co-mingle.

Status

Nature v. Network
A pan-Scandinavian team of researchers has analyzed the DNA of half a million people to measure the influence of genetics on educational and career choices. Their findings, published in Nature Genetics, suggest that “fields” are roughly 7% heritable because people tend to process information similarly to their ancestors. Specifically, the researchers found that psychological orientations on a things vs. people scale and doing vs. thinking scale were discernibly genetic. Technical types (engineers, data analysts) score higher on things and thinking; Practical workers (project managers, clinicians) score higher on things and doing; Social types (HR, comms, sales) score higher on people and doing1; Abstract workers (designers, strategists, researchers) score higher on people and thinking. But not everyone’s job reflects genetics. The results suggest prestige > nature.
Taste

Looking Commonwealthy
In early 17th century England, nobles wrapped themselves in brocade and jewels. Both men an women signified social status by being extra. Then, in 1649, Oliver Cromwell beheaded noted Jacobean clotheshorse King Charles I for attempting “to overthrow the rights and liberties of the people.” The monarchy was restored a few years later, but aristocrats at court had changed. They embraced a practical country chic inspired more by the help than the crown. Which is all to say that the Barbour x Levi’s denim coat is going to sell out faster than The Row sample sale.
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Money

Regressive Conflation
Between 2011 and 2012, President Obama invoked “millionaires and billionaires” frequently (34 times by our count) while promoting the Buffett Rule, which would have imposed a 30% minimum federal income tax on $1M salaries had it not died in congress. Obama didn’t coin the lilting phrase (Paul Simon sang about “loose affiliations of millionaires and billionaires” on Graceland), but he used when doing populism. Trump has also used it when doing populism. Interestingly, NYC Mayor Elect Zohran Mamdani, who does populism constantly, has never used it (at least as far as we can tell). NYC is home to plenty of single-digit millionaires who would take exemption to that lazy conflation. Poll numbers suggest Mamdani outperformed in that demo. Little thing called word choice.