Because most rich people are born into wealth and all its advantages. "Luck" indeed. I think something like significantly more than half of 1%ers were born into

Because most rich people are born into wealth and all its advantages. "Luck" indeed. I think something like significantly more than half of 1%ers were born into 1%er families. Another is height. There's a very strong correlation between height and lifetime earnings; tall people are seen as better leaders, trusted more, and frankly, more physically intimidating. Tall men are much more desirable to partners. Getting back to wealth...let's run down just some of the advantages. Having parents with the free time to do things like read to you as a baby. Babies start figuring out language pretty much the second they're out of the womb. Their little brains are working out the rhythm of the language in order to figure out where the word separation is, so they can learn words. Childcare (and childcare that likely isn't religiously affiliated.) Going into Pre-K. Again, likely not religiously affiliated. You're learning useful stuff, versus being brainwashed. Better chance of living in a good school system, or even if you don't - your parents recognizing you're in a shitty school system and getting you outside tutoring, being involved in your education (helping with homework, going to parent-teacher conferences, etc.) Having regular doctor's visits, dental care, vision, etc. Having enough to eat, and probably good quality food as well. A shocking number of kids in the US go to school hungry. And we charge kids to eat in school - somewhere they are required to be. It's bananas. Better access to exam prep/tutoring/ability to participate in enriching afterschool activities Likely less stress in the home. Sure, rich families have their own dysfunctions. But likely nobody's worried about paying the grocery bill that week, you're clothed, etc. Able to work internships that are of academic value as opposed to a job that makes money because you / your family need the money. Parents are likely well connected and able to leverage their network to help you get an internship of value. Better access to nicer colleges both financially and due to access to things like exam preparation/tutoring, and the aforementioned good-looking internships. Let's also not forget that college applications cost a considerable amount of money, which is a scam and a half. You can literally buy your way into a nicer school by applying to more schools than the kid whose parents can only afford to apply to one or two. You're more likely to get help with purchasing a home, so you don't flush a ton of money down the drain renting - which means you can be pumping money into investments, both retirement and otherwise. Or pursuing an advanced degree, and the income bump that comes with it. Maybe even both. Early investing in retirement pays huge dividends later. This also means late in life you're not scrambling to stuff every dollar you can into retirement savings so you're not eating rice and beans when you're too old to have any sort of luck finding a job in tech...which means mid life is a lot more pleasant.