"have skin in the game" is code for "don't want to work with poor people." Tell me, who has more skin in the game in the following scenario: B and C both get i

"have skin in the game" is code for "don't want to work with poor people." Tell me, who has more skin in the game in the following scenario: B and C both get into the same school. B comes from a family with two parents making $150K/year each. C comes from a family with two parents, one making $50K/year and the other staying at home to raise the kids. Both get into the same school, take the same classes, and pass with the same grades. (Set aside that B is more likely to have had test prep help, college admissions help, etc. than C - I stipulate they are of equal merit.) The main difference is that C graduates with $35K [1] in debt, while B has no debt because B's parents could pay for college. Both B and C have equally good ideas, and look for angel funding. B can come in with $150K of F&F funding. And if the venture doesn't work out, the family has a other money saved up. C can get $50K of F&F, but is still $35K in debt, accruing interest, and that $50K is about all the F&F can afford; cutting expenses to the bone. They are really hoping for C to make it big. The angel 'D' decides to fund each for $250,000. D's stocks alone make $1M/year and D is angel investing partly as a hobby after taking early retirement. So, who has more skin in the game: 'C' who's all-in committed, 'B' who can chalk up a failure to a learning experience, ... or 'D', who has the most money but for which losing even $500K won't have a big impact? I argue that the concept of "skin in the game" = "money" is a rich person's way to prioritize money over real skin-in-the game; the limited time we have on this planet, and the chance to enjoy it. Why would you choose 'B', who might flake out on you and lose focus or direction because failure is not that big of a deal, instead of 'C', for whom financial success is a much more serious matter? [1] $35K is roughly the US average - https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/15/heres-how-much-the-average-student-loan-borrower-owes-when-they-graduate.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/15/heres-how-much-the-average-s... - the UK is different, but I'm from the US so that's what I know. Given the numbers you listed, it would have taken you about 2 years to pay off that debt, giving "B" an extra couple of years experience over "C" in the startup scene. [2] On a more personal note, my father had a stroke when I was 25 and in grad school. He was on disability for the rest of his life. Once I started making industry money, some of that money went to my parents, like to buy a car that didn't leak oil and break down often (a family friend owned a garage so we get free labor, which helped), and pay for new siding for their house. "B" likely wouldn't have had to worry about needing to support family anything like "C" would. Meritocracy my ass.