You have a point. But I think the sample is biased because of fame. A founder who goes from $0 to $10m is rags-to-riches by most definitions of the term, but go

You have a point. But I think the sample is biased because of fame. A founder who goes from $0 to $10m is rags-to-riches by most definitions of the term, but goes largely unnoticed unless they seek fame - and many don't. Conversely, you cannot easily go from nowhere to successful in either politics or entertainment without becoming widely known - almost by definition of success in those industries. That said - I can think of relatively obscure rags-to-riches stories in entertainment (writers/producers etc. Rod Temperton springs to mind) so you could be right. Would be interesting to see a better data set, as you say.