For those complaining about Frodo’s rank: it’s not about money. Merry was the son of the Master of Buckland and Pippin was the son of the Thain. They were both next in line for hereditary leadership roles; Frodo was not.
Low ranking aristocrat? Hardly! The fact remains that the Tooks are not as respectable as the Bagginses, though they are undoubtedly richer. One could also argue that Bilbo’s father built the most luxurious Hobbit-hole to be found either under The Hill, over The Hill, or across The Water.
I think they have that backward with Frodo; he was the richest person in the Shire, by far.
Yes, but he and Bilbo were nouveaux-riches in terms of Bilbo’s enormous wealth, and not significantly landed. They were a respected established family, and recently connected to the Tooks and Brandybucks, but Merry and Pippin are next in line to be the Master of the Hall and ‘The Took’ (and presumably Thain?).
