The paper estimates the effect of family background on individual earnings in a framework that highlights the role played by assortative mating. The empirical analysis is motivated by a simple model of intergenerational transmission of economic status that takes into account nonrandomenss in the process of spouse selection. The model shows that offspring earnings are associated to the human capital of both parents and parents-in-law. Using data from the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS), the paper measures the role of assortative mating and intergenerational economic persistence in explaining the variation in male earnings in South Africa.