Mark LoProto
Every December, families all over the world gather to celebrate the sights, sounds, tastes, and joys of the holiday season. Christmas is when so many of us break out the eggnog, kick back near a roaring fire, and try to calculate how the McCallister family affords that beautiful home in an affluent Chicago neighborhood, five children, and extravagances like a grand piano that made their home Harry’s “silver tuna.”
Home Alone is meant to be a family-friendly comedy about family, the holidays, and all that mushy stuff. Still, we’re too busy building out spreadsheets and diagrams to understand McCallister’s finances to focus on any of that. Thankfully, we’re not the only ones, and many have taken to the Internet to come up with these ten most intriguing theories behind their hidden wealth.
1. Kate Works in Fashion
A popular theory is that Kate, Kevin’s mom, is a fashionista and works in Chicago’s fashion scene. The theory considers that Kate is always dressed very nicely, has very nice jewelry that she’s quick to pawn off for a plane ticket, and there are dressmaker dummies and sewing machines throughout the house. There’s also the fact that she tends to have a lot of cash on hand, suggesting she’s the family’s breadwinner.
2. Peter Is a Dentist
What kid cares if their toothbrush is ADA-approved? A kid who grew up under a dentist’s careful and strict care. Peter does give off the air of a medical professional, and he recognizes Harry’s gold tooth pretty quickly, even holding it up to his mouth to drive home that his confusion is less about the gold item and more about why it’s in his home.
3. Hints From the Novelization
The Home Alone novelization doesn’t quite answer the question, but it does mention that Peter is a “prominent businessman.” That’s not super helpful, but it does close some doors. The novelization could have quickly mentioned that if he were a doctor or Wall Street trader. Instead, he may have paved his way as an entrepreneur in some aspect important to Chicago.
4. Peter Is a Politician
Peter has the demeanor and mannerisms of a public figure, and politicians make a lot of money. It’s not unthinkable that the family man is also an essential part of what keeps Chicago running. There’s not a lot of evidence to support this, but there’s also nothing that proves that he’s not rooted in politics.
5. They’re a Dual-Income Family
Nothing says only Kevin’s father has to be the breadwinner. It would make sense for both parents to hold affluent careers, allowing them to enjoy the fruits of their labors together. What either of them does is still a mystery, but you can mix and match theories, and it all works out.
6. Kevin’s Uncle Pays for It All
In the movie Home Alone, eleven members of the McAllister family are treated to an all-expenses paid trip to Paris courtesy of Kevin’s Uncle Rob. In Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), we learn that Uncle Rob owns a brownstone in New York, which he’s fully renovating while living full-time in France. So, Uncle Rob has some money, and as we learn during Kevin’s trip to New York, the two have a close relationship. It’s not unthinkable that some of the McAllister’s wealth comes a little from Rob. Not all of it, but enough to push them into a higher tax bracket.
7. Peter Is a Day Trader
This may be the most widely discussed theory for Peter and Kate’s wealth. It’s not a very exciting theory, but it certainly fits. Peter could work in the city’s financial district, making money moves while Kevin’s at home, driving everyone crazy.
8. It’s All Generational Wealth
What if that money isn’t earned at all? Peter and Kate could be holding down your run-of-the-mill jobs and primarily living off money passed down from one of their parents or grandparents. That would certainly explain the omission of where either parent works. That beautiful house could even be a family home they inherited when they married or started having children.
9. Mafia Ties
It could be that nobody has any idea what Peter does because what Peter does is illegal. It’s not unfathomable that he may have ties to Chicago’s mafia, maybe as a high-ranking member of a family. It’s just very convenient that the novelization describes him as a “businessman,” and it feels like the movie goes out of its way to hide his real profession.
10. They’re Not Actually Rich
What if the McCallisters aren’t really wealthy? Think about it. There’s a supposed serial killer next door, which may drive the appeal and, subsequently, the price of a home down. Maybe that big mansion didn’t cost nearly as much as we think it did. Then there’s Kate’s Rolex, which becomes part of the bargain for a ticket home. According to Kate, the watch is fake. To top all this off, Kevin’s uncle is paying for their trip to Paris. So, maybe they get by and live comfortably as middle-class residents of an affluent Chicago suburb.
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