Hard work, wise choices, and of course luck. That's not to say that wealth doesn't stay concentrated. For instance, the wealthiest families in Florence today a

Hard work, wise choices, and of course luck. That's not to say that wealth doesn't stay concentrated. For instance, the wealthiest families in Florence today are the same wealthiest families in Florence 600 years ago[1], and families like the Waltons, Kochs, S.C. Johnsons, Hearsts, Du Ponts, etc all have a legacy of riches which sort of undermine the purity of our meritocratic Big Three. That said, it's definitely a little refreshing and wouldn't have been possible under pre-Mercantilism systems. 1 https://qz.com/694340/the-richest-families-in-florence-in-1427-are-still-the-richest-families-in-florence/ https://qz.com/694340/the-richest-families-in-florence-in-14...