This thesis investigates the role of CEO social status in corporate decision making and explores the associated firm value consequences. Building on insights from sociology, I distinguish between ascribed (inherited) and achieved (earned) social status in order to distinguish the varying influence of status origin and provide a richer picture of the mechanisms through which social status can affect CEO behaviour. Utilising a large sample of S&P 500 executives, I find evidence of statistically and economically significant relationships between the level and the nature of CEO social status and firm-level outcomes, establishing the importance of CEO social status in strategic decision-making. My overall findings are consistent with a hypothesis that executives value their social status position and associated membership within elite social groups, leading to strategic decisions that reflect a desire to preserve their social standing. In particular, I find that both high ascribed and elevated achieved social status are associated with reduced M&A activity, but only high achieved social status results in significant value destruction around deal announcements. In addition, both types of CEO status are positively related to the firms’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance, although the specific strategies are different between executives with high ascribed and high achieved social status. These CSR influences based on social status are shown to neither harm nor benefit the firm. This research opens a new strand of literature on social status in corporate finance, and suggests that we need to look deeper into behavioural concepts that we adapt from other disciplines.