Yes and no. Genghis Khan actually rose from a modest station in life, unremarkable by that time and place's standards. But you're right that it was a family th

Yes and no. Genghis Khan actually rose from a modest station in life, unremarkable by that time and place's standards. But you're right that it was a family thing - he had lots and lots of descendants, about half of which were male, and these descendants inherited some of the high status of their father, and therefore also had lots of descendants. And so on over generations, until the status faded. It was a family thing indeed, but it started with one man, and that man was Temujin, a.k.a. Genghis Khan.