Life time earnings can be viewed as the ultimate indicator of individuals’ economic performance in the labor market. A common assumption among sociologists is that social class is a valid indicator of life-time earnings, and sometimes even the main reason for using the concept of social class to start with. However, this assumption has not been backed up by empirical evidence. Likewise, labor economists view skills as the driver of earnings in the long run. This project aims to disentangle the associations of class, skills and also gender with life time earnings with the use of a life course perspective. Based on analyses of large-scale Swedish register data this project sheds light on mechanisms of economic inequality; what the drivers are of economic inequality, what role class plays net of skills, how that change across cohorts, and how advantages and disadvantages accumulate across life for women and men.