The money they “inherited” is a tiny percentage of the money they made. The other things they inherited matter: education, political and financial connections, and if they hit $0 they usually have backup options.
What I am trying to say is that the money is almost irrelevant. If money were the only relevant issue, then the top ten would have all come from “ultra affluent” families and the top ten should all have recognisably older wealth surnames, like Windsor, Rockefeller, Washington.
Inter-generational wealth matters, but where does Ford come into the Forbes list? Certainly the poor are less likely to move up (who on the Forbes list had parents from 1950s China?)
Most importantly, the majority of arguments about the wealthy fail the smell test, as soon as you see the billions of people in the world who desire to be as well off as a poor person in the US. Don’t just look at those that are far wealthier than you, look at the number that are far poorer, and the arguments they would make about how you inherited your wealth.
What I am trying to say is that the money is almost irrelevant. If money were the only relevant issue, then the top ten would have all come from “ultra affluent” families and the top ten should all have recognisably older wealth surnames, like Windsor, Rockefeller, Washington.
Inter-generational wealth matters, but where does Ford come into the Forbes list? Certainly the poor are less likely to move up (who on the Forbes list had parents from 1950s China?)
Most importantly, the majority of arguments about the wealthy fail the smell test, as soon as you see the billions of people in the world who desire to be as well off as a poor person in the US. Don’t just look at those that are far wealthier than you, look at the number that are far poorer, and the arguments they would make about how you inherited your wealth.