The McCallisters—the fictional family from perennial Christmas favorite Home Alone (and the slightly less beloved Home Alone 2)—are members of the one percent, according to a new investigation from The New York Times. Located in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka, their house sits in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the country. Based on data including property values and tax rates, the Times determined that the family would have had a household income of at least $305k in 1990—about $665k adjusted for 2022 inflation—placing them in the top one percent of earners in the U.S. in both eras.
All of this to say... obviously. Not only does the plot hinge on a large family taking a trip to Paris—hardly a cheap vacation—but the house is visibly manse-like. Our two bumbling thieves Harry and Marv (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, respectively) are not dealing with torture from a tween just for kicks; they are trying to get rich too! It doesn’t take an economist to tell you that if you want to rob a home, you’d get more bang for your buck targeting a home that is literally full of more bucks.
The Times piece is pretty charming and lighthearted and worth a read. One question remains, however: with their account status more or less confirmed, why not invest in a home security system? It’s possible they could have had some kind of security in 1990, but it seems like it would have been a pretty expensive hassle. While home security systems did start to catch on in the 1980s, they were especially pricy and hard to install and became more popular after the mid-90s as cellular and internet capabilities improved. Now, it seems like every fourth house has a Ring camera, and use them for anything from yelling at their neighbors for looking at their packages wrong or demanding their Amazon driver to a dance.
In the Home Alone cinematic universe, it’s apparently someone from the McCallister clan who is, at least in part, responsible for this increase in neighborly skepticism. 2021's Home Sweet Home Alone on Disney+ introduces a McCallister Home Security brand, a sort of ADT-esque brand. Is this what Kevin is doing for work as an adult? Did his experience as a child turn him into a tool for the carceral state? You hate to see it.