10 ms·

> Going from $0 to $1M is almost impossible--going from $1M to $2M is almost inevitable. I know plenty of people who inherited money and blew it all. Very, ve

by nugget 10y ago

> Going from $0 to $1M is almost impossible--going from $1M to $2M is almost inevitable. I know plenty of people who inherited money and blew it all. Very, very few people, even children from ''rich'' families, have an ''infinite money cushion''. People who come from poverty or communities rampant with discrimination often times have to work harder for opportunities. But hard work is hard work, and there is fierce competition at every level, no matter who you are. I hesitate to take anything away from anyone's success. And if you think making your first million from scratch is ''almost impossible'' you should look around any suburb of Silicon Valley at the many, many immigrants who came here with nothing and have saved up that amount, or more. Lots of luck, to be sure, but lots of planning, discipline, deferred gratification, and hard work too.

WalterBright 10y ago
85% of American millionaires are self-made. Source: "The Millionaire Next Door" book.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- nickthemagicman 10y ago
  85% of wizards are educated at Hogwarts. "Harry Potter" book.
  - 50CNT 10y ago
    Hogwarts isn't even the largest school, that'd be Uagadou.
    - nickthemagicman 10y ago
      Woah I didnt know there were other schools and the world was so rich. Thats cool. My numbers were incorrect. I hope theres more of a fleshing out of the harry potter world in future books or movies. An mmo would be pretty tight lol.
- nickthemagicman 10y ago
  Wheres the ACTUAL study? Or did the author just call up 5 rich dudes? Seriously are we taking this number as legitimate.. simply because it comes from a BOOK? Is that how low our scientific standards have become? Frickin Pixar verified that talking cars exist. Good enough for me!
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - WalterBright 10y ago
    The book describes the studies they used. (Correction, it's 80%. I had misremembered it.) You can get the book for $2.50 from Amazon, not a bad investment if you are interested in the topic.
    - nickthemagicman 10y ago
      The numbers are not correct or even science. Its one dude who uses that number to sell his pop psychology book. Heres a blog from the author about where he gets his numbers: 'In my thirty plus years of surveying and studying millionaires' http://www.thomasjstanley.com/2014/05/america-where-millionaires-are-self-made/ http://www.thomasjstanley.com/2014/05/america-where-milliona...
      - WalterBright 10y ago
        A blog post of a couple of paragraphs does not give any information about the rigor, correctness, or value of the contents of a book.
- quanticle 10y ago
  That's exactly what OP is trying to point out. It's easy to be "self-made" when you can get a million dollar loan from your dad to get your real-estate business off the ground. It's easy to be self-made when your dad works at Seattle's most prestigious law firm and can arrange an introduction with IBM's PC hardware division. It's significantly more difficult to be self-made when you have no connections and no capital.
  - Teever 10y ago
    I don't understand. none of those examples are 'self-made'
    - namelezz 10y ago
      In US, 'self-make' means 'privileged'
    - IAmGarrett 10y ago
      What's your definition of self-made? I like "Someone with significant wealth who didn't receive inheritance or trust fund money."
      - saiya-jin 10y ago
        Someone with significant wealth who reached 18 without any cash/value other than what he earned himself. Meaning self-funded university studies, pretty hard in US from what I heard. Would earn great respect not only from me. In more lenient fashion, somebody on top of this who finished university without debt, and no money apart from self-earned.
    - st3v3r 10y ago
      But they're still usually counted as such. Both Donald Trump and Bill Gates are regularly touted as "self-made" Xillionaires. And, at least in terms of that book, we don't know what definition of self made is used, or how they counted it.
    - khedoros 10y ago
- edoceo 10y ago
  Read this book if you want the sources, they are cited there and are too many to list here.
- Broken_Hippo 10y ago
  The point is that most folks that "make it" have some advantages from the start. Their parents might not have been rich, but decently well off. Went to decent schools, were able to make business contacts and network. Might not have had to work while in school either. If their business failed, it didn't mean they were sleeping on people's couches: They had a room at their parents if it got that bad, but they could usually weather the storm. Again, contacts help with that. The folks growing up in poverty don't have much of that. Schools are by chance, and often folks work through college so there isn't as much time for networking. Besides, networking costs money. If this person fails, they are simply homeless. Simply moving up to lower middle class takes some work. Sure, they are possibly "self-made", but they weren't fighting lack of opportunity.It is simply easier to make it if you have a good foundation.
st3v3r 10y ago
If they're talking like the person that was described was talking, I absolutely would take away from their success, especially because they've never had to worry about any of the stuff that someone who doesn't come from means has to worry about. Don't get me wrong; finding success is hard, and whenever someone does find it, it should be celebrated. But those that do find it shouldn't discount the struggles of those who aren't able to try, especially if it takes them several tried to find it themselves.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- hueving 10y ago
  >I absolutely would take away from their success Why? Because they are an asshole about it? That doesn't reduce their success in any way. If they have offset the losses of their previous endeavors, they have provided a net gain and it's still a success.
  - st3v3r 10y ago
    Because they're an asshole about it, and because they're ignoring the pure luck advantages they had which made their success possible. And it doesn't matter if they've offset the losses of their previous tries, they still took multiple tries (in and of itself not a problem), which is something most people don't get.
    - oldmanjay 10y ago
      Let me ask a question - what does your attitude benefit you? It seems mostly to make you bitter about things that were never in your control, which seems like an unvarnished negative. Maybe you've found something more helpful.
      - majormajor 10y ago
        I don't think many people have an attitude of "we need to recognize built-in advantages, and should call out people who try to play down or hide them" to benefit themselves - it's an attitude and position adopted to try to benefit those without those advantages. E.g. by showing a beneficial side of certain social safety net policies, or the downside of the default position becoming graduating with massive amounts of student debt, etc.
ap22213 10y ago
It depends on where one lives. Where I currently live, it takes about $25M in wealth just to get out of middle class and into lower upper class. And, to get into the true upper class requires maybe $500M to a billion. And, at that level, it is effectively infinite money (like > $250k a day in passive income, at the lowest level). -4 in less than 30 minutes. that's a record for me. I must have said something controversial. So, glad that I could help :-)
- hueving 10y ago
  I'm not aware of any place on earth where someone who has $24 million in wealth is considered 'middle class'. That's $180,000 annually at a measly 0.75% interest (what my peon savings bank currently gives) for doing absolutely nothing. If you can quit your job and ride on 180k passive, risk-free income, you're not middle class.
  - ap22213 10y ago
    You're not alone - trust me. Most people don't believe me. But, then, I grew up in a place where many if not most household incomes are less than $15k / year. It's all relative though - I have enough saved up to probably live as a rich man in probably 99% of the earth. Yet, I keep pushing myself to get into the upper class of a minuscule area of the world. It's kind of screwed up.
    - hueving 10y ago
      Sorry, I should have been stricter with my phrasing. There is no place on earth where you can consider yourself middle class only having $24m in net worth. What you are referring to is likely a small community filled with people with net worths above $100m, but that doesn't change the class level because of what I pointed out. If you can quit your job and make 6 figures off of interest, you are not middle class anymore wherever you live. Just because you can't afford a penthouse apartment in downtown Manhattan doesn't mean you are middle class.
      - 10y ago
cmdrfred 10y ago
>People who come from poverty or communities rampant with discrimination often times have to work harder for opportunities. But hard work is hard work, and there is fierce competition at every level, no matter who you are. I hesitate to take anything away from anyone's success. Tell that to the kid making iPhones in the Foxconn facility. Success isn't where you are, it's how far you've come. By that metric the most successful thing you can do in life is have a father like Sam Walton.
- hueving 10y ago
  Hard work is requisite, not satisfactory. You can dig ditches in your own yard for 14 hours a day and you aren't going to be successful. Similarly, you can start a business with your $1 million inherited wealth, but it has an extremely high probability of failing without hard work. >Tell that to the kid making iPhones in the Foxconn facility. I'm not even sure what your point is. GP was pointing out that competition at every level is fierce. Not sure what that has to do with the Foxconn employee. Are they known for not being competitive?
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - icantdrive55 10y ago
    In software/technology developement--yes. I grew up with rich kids. I live in Marin County. The place your founders will end up in, if they make it big. The rich kids, I know, didn't work that hard. Some didn't work at all. Even as a slight insider, they all seemed to be just having a good time, and partying a lot more than myself. They were all set up in nice houses/condos. They all had nice cars. They had the nice girlfriend. They just didn't have to worry about what poor/middle class kids gave to deal with. Crazy mom--hire someone. Alcoholic dad--hire someone. Have a life incident, like a legal problem, break down, accident--there's money to take care of the mess. A big incident for a poor/middle class kid--it could affect the rest of their lives. They all has the chance to go to a good college, with everything paid. None of the kids, I knew, finished. "It was just boring." They all had helpful fathers, who gave them good business advice though. That good business advice, along with funds goes a long way. A few examples: The inventor of plastic tooth picks/a consumer dental pick. Yea, those white tooth picks you see discarded everywhere. The pull-tabs of this decade. This kids father was a dentist, and designed a bunch of products--from CAD to a warehouse full of boxes. Set up a company for his son, paid for everything including the son's nice apartment, nice car, two boats, etc. This kid was handed just so much. His dad even set up the first appointments to peddle his products. He gave everything to his kid; all control, all profits--just a gift. The business just took off. This kid spend more time sailing, than any hard work. I think the $7.40/hr secretary was more responsible for the success of that business that the kid. When the business got huge--the kid moved it to Tennessee. Supposedly for tax reasons; I belive he didn't want his retired after hanging around the office. (Why didn't his father do it all? His father was a successful dentist. Very successful, and already owned other cash cows, like mini storages. He just wanted to give his son something. Gavin Newsome, our luitenant governor. Kid went to college, and dropped out--dyslexic. Wanted to be a baseball player. Wasen't good enough. He was lost. Family stepped in and gave him money to open some bars. Failed. Family stepped in and gave him money to open speciality wine stores in San Francisco--kinda successful. Real success was family money, and marrying right. He didn't work very hard. Then the families friends, the Gettys decided to offer help. 'He needs direction. Let's make him mayor? He did work hard in that campaign, but not hard work like we you think. When you don't have to worry about lodging, travel, free legal guidance, free everything--it becomes a game. Another kid I grew up with is very rich, even with a TBI. (He was in a bar fight, and was cold cocked.). He blames his bad attitude of his TBI. His parents bought him houses. His job, over the years, was to collect rent. No maintance. Just the rent. He now is living high, but if he doesn't cut back on the drinking, they will need to open that zipper in his chest again. My point is when you are in your in your money making years, if you have it financially easy, offered good opportunities; there's not a lot of sweat. Hard work is not what my neighbors do. Every successful person I knew/grew up with had a sympathetic, rich father. When money isn't so tight, it does make it easier to finish school. The rich kids I knew didn't even have to go to school. A lot of their fathers did go to school though. Yes, there are a few doctors who make a fortune off their patients. I look back, it seems like the wealthy doctors slept through the ethics class though. Yes, there are lawyers who made a fortune, and did work hard getting through law school. Their kids did not have to go to a professional school, in order to "make it". My point is their kids did not work that hard. I'm sorry, but I just didn't see it. It seems like once you are wealthy, it's hard to squander it away, unless you come from a very poor family, have just horrid judgement, or no one around to guide you. A poor guy wins the lottery--yea, it's usually gone. But the wealthy families here, just seem to keep that money. Their is usually a wise patriarch that puts the breaks on bad business moves. Even the family's with the stereotypical drug addict son/daughter don't get cut off. They are sent to rehab, and yes some die. My point is obvious. The wealth, the support, the good advice will take a average, the average, below average intellect very far here. They do not work hard, or I'm missing all their sweat? Look at Eric Trump, and his brother. Look at their wealth accumulation. Try to find where they worked hard. There's a lovely picture of both of them working hard in Africa. They are holding up a dead Tiger. One has a elephants tail, freshly cut off in his little hands. Dad's response, "He's--a--Good Shot!". Tell me these kids worked Hard. (They are easy targets, but not that unusual for rich kids.)
lsc 10y ago
Most of the successful immigrants I personally know who have made it in silicon valley came from families with money or power back home. I mean, there are other stories to, of course, but the student visa and then technical visa course is one mostly reserved for people who come from well off families. (I am not trying to knock anyone or diminish their achievements, some of these people have worked hard and achieved a lot. I am just saying that if you can get a student visa or a technical work visa, you probably did not come from a poor or powerless family.)
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
wang_li 10y ago
(0% of families dissipate their wealth within three generations. This suggests that there is a constant up welling of people who accumulate wealth. The proposition that there is some fixed group of rich people sitting at the top is absurd. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324662404578334663271139552 http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014241278873246624045783346...
- yoha 10y ago
  Edit: the actual figure is 90% For other people struggling to read this comment: "(" is on the same key as "5" on Azerty keyboards.
  - wang_li 10y ago
    It's also a capital 9. I'm so ashamed. The number is supposedly 90%.
    - yoha 10y ago
      Oh, my bad, I got confused with the brackets (which are not on a digit key). I really should have checked. See, we all make mistakes!
    - gbersac 10y ago
      Did you know you can edit your post? I think yours deserve it.
      - wang_li 10y ago
        It appears that after a certain amount of time the edit capability is unavailable.
- bobjordan 10y ago
  There is a force not unlike gravity, constantly pulling on all outliers, reverting them to the mean over time. However, that does not imply the outliers do not "sit at the top" and heavily impact whatever group in which they are the outliers.
1_listerine_pls 10y ago
well... He/she clearly said that: p(success|rich) > p(success|poor) and never implied that: p(success|rich) = 1
taneq 10y ago
I didn't read that as "if you have $1M you'll almost certainly go to $2M", so much as "if your business has already earned $1M in profit then it's almost certain to continue to earn another $1M in profit". And likewise, it's not talking about having $1M in savings from a lifetime of hard work. Think of a business as being like an engine. Until you get the engine started and running under its own power, it's just costing you time and effort and money. Once it's running, it generates money at an accelerating rate. The $1M cutoff here is a proxy for "the engine is running."

by nugget 10y ago

WalterBright 10y ago

85% of American millionaires are self-made. Source: "The Millionaire Next Door" book.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
nickthemagicman 10y ago
85% of wizards are educated at Hogwarts. "Harry Potter" book.
- 50CNT 10y ago
  Hogwarts isn't even the largest school, that'd be Uagadou.
  - nickthemagicman 10y ago
    Woah I didnt know there were other schools and the world was so rich. Thats cool. My numbers were incorrect. I hope theres more of a fleshing out of the harry potter world in future books or movies. An mmo would be pretty tight lol.
nickthemagicman 10y ago
Wheres the ACTUAL study? Or did the author just call up 5 rich dudes? Seriously are we taking this number as legitimate.. simply because it comes from a BOOK? Is that how low our scientific standards have become? Frickin Pixar verified that talking cars exist. Good enough for me!
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- WalterBright 10y ago
  The book describes the studies they used. (Correction, it's 80%. I had misremembered it.) You can get the book for $2.50 from Amazon, not a bad investment if you are interested in the topic.
  - nickthemagicman 10y ago
    The numbers are not correct or even science. Its one dude who uses that number to sell his pop psychology book. Heres a blog from the author about where he gets his numbers: 'In my thirty plus years of surveying and studying millionaires' http://www.thomasjstanley.com/2014/05/america-where-millionaires-are-self-made/ http://www.thomasjstanley.com/2014/05/america-where-milliona...
    - WalterBright 10y ago
      A blog post of a couple of paragraphs does not give any information about the rigor, correctness, or value of the contents of a book.
quanticle 10y ago
That's exactly what OP is trying to point out. It's easy to be "self-made" when you can get a million dollar loan from your dad to get your real-estate business off the ground. It's easy to be self-made when your dad works at Seattle's most prestigious law firm and can arrange an introduction with IBM's PC hardware division. It's significantly more difficult to be self-made when you have no connections and no capital.
- Teever 10y ago
  I don't understand. none of those examples are 'self-made'
  - namelezz 10y ago
    In US, 'self-make' means 'privileged'
  - IAmGarrett 10y ago
    What's your definition of self-made? I like "Someone with significant wealth who didn't receive inheritance or trust fund money."
    - saiya-jin 10y ago
      Someone with significant wealth who reached 18 without any cash/value other than what he earned himself. Meaning self-funded university studies, pretty hard in US from what I heard. Would earn great respect not only from me. In more lenient fashion, somebody on top of this who finished university without debt, and no money apart from self-earned.
  - st3v3r 10y ago
    But they're still usually counted as such. Both Donald Trump and Bill Gates are regularly touted as "self-made" Xillionaires. And, at least in terms of that book, we don't know what definition of self made is used, or how they counted it.
  - khedoros 10y ago
edoceo 10y ago
Read this book if you want the sources, they are cited there and are too many to list here.
Broken_Hippo 10y ago
The point is that most folks that "make it" have some advantages from the start. Their parents might not have been rich, but decently well off. Went to decent schools, were able to make business contacts and network. Might not have had to work while in school either. If their business failed, it didn't mean they were sleeping on people's couches: They had a room at their parents if it got that bad, but they could usually weather the storm. Again, contacts help with that. The folks growing up in poverty don't have much of that. Schools are by chance, and often folks work through college so there isn't as much time for networking. Besides, networking costs money. If this person fails, they are simply homeless. Simply moving up to lower middle class takes some work. Sure, they are possibly "self-made", but they weren't fighting lack of opportunity.It is simply easier to make it if you have a good foundation.

st3v3r 10y ago

If they're talking like the person that was described was talking, I absolutely would take away from their success, especially because they've never had to worry about any of the stuff that someone who doesn't come from means has to worry about. Don't get me wrong; finding success is hard, and whenever someone does find it, it should be celebrated. But those that do find it shouldn't discount the struggles of those who aren't able to try, especially if it takes them several tried to find it themselves.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
hueving 10y ago
>I absolutely would take away from their success Why? Because they are an asshole about it? That doesn't reduce their success in any way. If they have offset the losses of their previous endeavors, they have provided a net gain and it's still a success.
- st3v3r 10y ago
  Because they're an asshole about it, and because they're ignoring the pure luck advantages they had which made their success possible. And it doesn't matter if they've offset the losses of their previous tries, they still took multiple tries (in and of itself not a problem), which is something most people don't get.
  - oldmanjay 10y ago
    Let me ask a question - what does your attitude benefit you? It seems mostly to make you bitter about things that were never in your control, which seems like an unvarnished negative. Maybe you've found something more helpful.
    - majormajor 10y ago
      I don't think many people have an attitude of "we need to recognize built-in advantages, and should call out people who try to play down or hide them" to benefit themselves - it's an attitude and position adopted to try to benefit those without those advantages. E.g. by showing a beneficial side of certain social safety net policies, or the downside of the default position becoming graduating with massive amounts of student debt, etc.

ap22213 10y ago

It depends on where one lives. Where I currently live, it takes about $25M in wealth just to get out of middle class and into lower upper class. And, to get into the true upper class requires maybe $500M to a billion. And, at that level, it is effectively infinite money (like > $250k a day in passive income, at the lowest level). -4 in less than 30 minutes. that's a record for me. I must have said something controversial. So, glad that I could help :-)

hueving 10y ago
I'm not aware of any place on earth where someone who has $24 million in wealth is considered 'middle class'. That's $180,000 annually at a measly 0.75% interest (what my peon savings bank currently gives) for doing absolutely nothing. If you can quit your job and ride on 180k passive, risk-free income, you're not middle class.
- ap22213 10y ago
  You're not alone - trust me. Most people don't believe me. But, then, I grew up in a place where many if not most household incomes are less than $15k / year. It's all relative though - I have enough saved up to probably live as a rich man in probably 99% of the earth. Yet, I keep pushing myself to get into the upper class of a minuscule area of the world. It's kind of screwed up.
  - hueving 10y ago
    Sorry, I should have been stricter with my phrasing. There is no place on earth where you can consider yourself middle class only having $24m in net worth. What you are referring to is likely a small community filled with people with net worths above $100m, but that doesn't change the class level because of what I pointed out. If you can quit your job and make 6 figures off of interest, you are not middle class anymore wherever you live. Just because you can't afford a penthouse apartment in downtown Manhattan doesn't mean you are middle class.
    - 10y ago

cmdrfred 10y ago

>People who come from poverty or communities rampant with discrimination often times have to work harder for opportunities. But hard work is hard work, and there is fierce competition at every level, no matter who you are. I hesitate to take anything away from anyone's success. Tell that to the kid making iPhones in the Foxconn facility. Success isn't where you are, it's how far you've come. By that metric the most successful thing you can do in life is have a father like Sam Walton.

hueving 10y ago
Hard work is requisite, not satisfactory. You can dig ditches in your own yard for 14 hours a day and you aren't going to be successful. Similarly, you can start a business with your $1 million inherited wealth, but it has an extremely high probability of failing without hard work. >Tell that to the kid making iPhones in the Foxconn facility. I'm not even sure what your point is. GP was pointing out that competition at every level is fierce. Not sure what that has to do with the Foxconn employee. Are they known for not being competitive?
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- icantdrive55 10y ago
  In software/technology developement--yes. I grew up with rich kids. I live in Marin County. The place your founders will end up in, if they make it big. The rich kids, I know, didn't work that hard. Some didn't work at all. Even as a slight insider, they all seemed to be just having a good time, and partying a lot more than myself. They were all set up in nice houses/condos. They all had nice cars. They had the nice girlfriend. They just didn't have to worry about what poor/middle class kids gave to deal with. Crazy mom--hire someone. Alcoholic dad--hire someone. Have a life incident, like a legal problem, break down, accident--there's money to take care of the mess. A big incident for a poor/middle class kid--it could affect the rest of their lives. They all has the chance to go to a good college, with everything paid. None of the kids, I knew, finished. "It was just boring." They all had helpful fathers, who gave them good business advice though. That good business advice, along with funds goes a long way. A few examples: The inventor of plastic tooth picks/a consumer dental pick. Yea, those white tooth picks you see discarded everywhere. The pull-tabs of this decade. This kids father was a dentist, and designed a bunch of products--from CAD to a warehouse full of boxes. Set up a company for his son, paid for everything including the son's nice apartment, nice car, two boats, etc. This kid was handed just so much. His dad even set up the first appointments to peddle his products. He gave everything to his kid; all control, all profits--just a gift. The business just took off. This kid spend more time sailing, than any hard work. I think the $7.40/hr secretary was more responsible for the success of that business that the kid. When the business got huge--the kid moved it to Tennessee. Supposedly for tax reasons; I belive he didn't want his retired after hanging around the office. (Why didn't his father do it all? His father was a successful dentist. Very successful, and already owned other cash cows, like mini storages. He just wanted to give his son something. Gavin Newsome, our luitenant governor. Kid went to college, and dropped out--dyslexic. Wanted to be a baseball player. Wasen't good enough. He was lost. Family stepped in and gave him money to open some bars. Failed. Family stepped in and gave him money to open speciality wine stores in San Francisco--kinda successful. Real success was family money, and marrying right. He didn't work very hard. Then the families friends, the Gettys decided to offer help. 'He needs direction. Let's make him mayor? He did work hard in that campaign, but not hard work like we you think. When you don't have to worry about lodging, travel, free legal guidance, free everything--it becomes a game. Another kid I grew up with is very rich, even with a TBI. (He was in a bar fight, and was cold cocked.). He blames his bad attitude of his TBI. His parents bought him houses. His job, over the years, was to collect rent. No maintance. Just the rent. He now is living high, but if he doesn't cut back on the drinking, they will need to open that zipper in his chest again. My point is when you are in your in your money making years, if you have it financially easy, offered good opportunities; there's not a lot of sweat. Hard work is not what my neighbors do. Every successful person I knew/grew up with had a sympathetic, rich father. When money isn't so tight, it does make it easier to finish school. The rich kids I knew didn't even have to go to school. A lot of their fathers did go to school though. Yes, there are a few doctors who make a fortune off their patients. I look back, it seems like the wealthy doctors slept through the ethics class though. Yes, there are lawyers who made a fortune, and did work hard getting through law school. Their kids did not have to go to a professional school, in order to "make it". My point is their kids did not work that hard. I'm sorry, but I just didn't see it. It seems like once you are wealthy, it's hard to squander it away, unless you come from a very poor family, have just horrid judgement, or no one around to guide you. A poor guy wins the lottery--yea, it's usually gone. But the wealthy families here, just seem to keep that money. Their is usually a wise patriarch that puts the breaks on bad business moves. Even the family's with the stereotypical drug addict son/daughter don't get cut off. They are sent to rehab, and yes some die. My point is obvious. The wealth, the support, the good advice will take a average, the average, below average intellect very far here. They do not work hard, or I'm missing all their sweat? Look at Eric Trump, and his brother. Look at their wealth accumulation. Try to find where they worked hard. There's a lovely picture of both of them working hard in Africa. They are holding up a dead Tiger. One has a elephants tail, freshly cut off in his little hands. Dad's response, "He's--a--Good Shot!". Tell me these kids worked Hard. (They are easy targets, but not that unusual for rich kids.)

lsc 10y ago

Most of the successful immigrants I personally know who have made it in silicon valley came from families with money or power back home. I mean, there are other stories to, of course, but the student visa and then technical visa course is one mostly reserved for people who come from well off families. (I am not trying to knock anyone or diminish their achievements, some of these people have worked hard and achieved a lot. I am just saying that if you can get a student visa or a technical work visa, you probably did not come from a poor or powerless family.)

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

wang_li 10y ago

(0% of families dissipate their wealth within three generations. This suggests that there is a constant up welling of people who accumulate wealth. The proposition that there is some fixed group of rich people sitting at the top is absurd. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324662404578334663271139552 http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014241278873246624045783346...

yoha 10y ago
Edit: the actual figure is 90% For other people struggling to read this comment: "(" is on the same key as "5" on Azerty keyboards.
- wang_li 10y ago
  It's also a capital 9. I'm so ashamed. The number is supposedly 90%.
  - yoha 10y ago
    Oh, my bad, I got confused with the brackets (which are not on a digit key). I really should have checked. See, we all make mistakes!
  - gbersac 10y ago
    Did you know you can edit your post? I think yours deserve it.
    - wang_li 10y ago
      It appears that after a certain amount of time the edit capability is unavailable.
bobjordan 10y ago
There is a force not unlike gravity, constantly pulling on all outliers, reverting them to the mean over time. However, that does not imply the outliers do not "sit at the top" and heavily impact whatever group in which they are the outliers.

1_listerine_pls 10y ago

well... He/she clearly said that: p(success|rich) > p(success|poor) and never implied that: p(success|rich) = 1

taneq 10y ago

I didn't read that as "if you have $1M you'll almost certainly go to $2M", so much as "if your business has already earned $1M in profit then it's almost certain to continue to earn another $1M in profit". And likewise, it's not talking about having $1M in savings from a lifetime of hard work. Think of a business as being like an engine. Until you get the engine started and running under its own power, it's just costing you time and effort and money. Once it's running, it generates money at an accelerating rate. The $1M cutoff here is a proxy for "the engine is running."