I'm talking about people that I know are at least in fatFIRE range that started life somewhere between abject poverty and burger flipper. Their income is not re

I'm talking about people that I know are at least in fatFIRE range that started life somewhere between abject poverty and burger flipper. Their income is not relevant here, and some make seven-figures today. I am in Seattle now, but it is essentially the same as Silicon Valley in that regard. Little has changed; I know young people that started on that journey quite recently that are well on their way. Your "under 30" criterion may be your problem, that selects for a very narrow set of circumstances while excluding most actually wealthy people. Virtually no one becomes wealthy before 30. Especially if you are starting from less than zero, like people that come from true poverty. Anecdotally, they usually enter fatFIRE territory in their 40s. Until very recently, tech did not pay a typical wage where someone could fatFIRE easily. Most of the people I know did it before that was a thing, without any big exits to pad their net worth. They did it the old fashioned way. Again, I find it pretty bizarre that people in the US think it is exceptionally rare that people born into poverty become quite wealthy. In that community, there are often many examples of people that "got out" by various means, many going on to become quite wealthy. In the tech locales, that is multiplied dramatically because it is so easy for a moderately ambitious person to make silly money. Easiest ticket to wealth for a poor person ever, if they are willing to put in the effort.