For a long time, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was considered a potentially deadly disease. Since the introduction of immunosuppressive therapy, the life expectancy and the quality of life of patients suffering from lupus erythematosus has been dramatically improved. Today, the 5-year survival rate for SLE varies between 50% and 95%. Still, not all patients benefit equally from medical advances. Ethnic and/or socioeconomic minorities show severely disadvantageous prognosis or outcome in various studies. A substantial reduction in the quality of life as well as unemployment are other frequent side effects of this disease. Vocational handicaps related to discoid lupus erythematodes (DLE) was seen in nearly 45% of the patients. Therefore, the management of lupus erythematosus patients requires interdisciplinary cooperation between physicians, psychologists and social workers. The major aim of this article is to summarize the history of lupus erythematosus on the one and the other hand to consider the role of the socioeconomic factors influencing the prognosis of systemic and cutaneous lupus erythematosus.