Macaulay Culkin's family in "Home Alone" was part of the 1%, according to economists.

The McCallister family had a seemingly opulent lifestyle in the classic holiday film, but now, an investigation by The New York Times may have uncovered just how rich they were.

According to the publication, a search on Realtor.com showed that the real-world house where the 1990 film was shot is located in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the country, Chicago's Winnetka.

Economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago told the Times that based on data such as household incomes for Chicago residents for 1990 and 2022, only the top 1% could afford such a home, which had enough rooms for Kevin, his four siblings and their parents, whether in 1990 or today.

If the family did not spend more than 30% of their income on housing, the economists estimated that the McCallisters likely had a household income of $305,000 annually in 1990 if they could afford such a house. Adjusted for inflation, this translates to approximately $665,000 per year in 2022.

The economists also based their analysis on factors such as property value, mortgage rates, and typical taxes and insurance.

While the film provides no explicit details about the McCallister parents' occupations, viewers have speculated that Kate McCallister (played by Catherine O'Hara) could be a successful fashion designer, given the mannequins in the house.

Todd Strasser, who wrote novelizations of "Home Alone," suggested this in his book, along with envisioning Kevin McCallister's (Culkin) dad Peter (John Heard) as a businessman.

Uncle Rob (Ray Toler), who paid for the family's Christmas trip to Paris in the film, added another layer to the McCallister wealth narrative.

The trip for 15 people, including first-class flights, and the fact that Uncle Rob has an apartment in Paris with a view of the Eiffel Tower suggested significant affluence.

On the other hand, Uncle Frank (Gerry Bamman) is depicted as cheap, telling his wife to grab the crystal salt and pepper shakers in first class into her purse.

This could suggest that Uncle Frank is wealthy as well, according to The Times, which cited research that shoplifting was "significantly more common" among people with family incomes over $70,000.

The report came after a parody "Home Alone" trailer had fans calling for a third movie starring Culkin, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern.

The fake "Home Alone 3" trailer, created using clips from various movies and TV series, showed Culkin's Kevin taking revenge on the Wet Bandits 30 years after the events in "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York."

The trailer received praise from many social media users, with one person writing, "Everyone would go to the theaters for this."

Tags
Home alone