Healp ! wealthy merchants were:

near the bottom of the confucian status ladder

second-class citizens

often buddhists

responsible for making goods

Wealthy merchants were: often Buddhists.

often Buddhists

Explanation:

Anathapindika (Pali: Anāthapiṇḍika; Sanskrit: Anāthapiṇḍada) was a well off dealer and broker, accepted to have been the wealthiest vendor in Savatthi in the hour of Gautama Buddha. Buddhism gave the best shock to the standard Brahmanism. Buddhism practiced a significant impact on molding the different parts of Indian culture. The moral code of Buddhism was likewise more straightforward dependent on philanthropy, immaculateness, generosity, and honesty and power over interests.

d. direct