Billionaire Sam Zell: "The 1% work harder."

[haele]

70. And the final point for success is in the nature of hierarchy, which is how humans socialize.

There is only one position at the top, and a few positions on the way to the top in every social structure. Everyone else is just average.

No matter how hard they work, how smart they are, or how personable they are - 75% of the population will never be able to be "rich" or "powerful" because there are so few positions available to be rich or powerful. There is only one CEO. There are only so many positions on the BoD. There are only so many primary investors or owners. There are only so many businesses that will rise to the top of their market and be successful. Except for the few at the "top", all the others will be considered average, and have to live off whatever is left over from the top.
That is the nature of human societies. No matter if the society is a dictatorship, monarchy, meritocracy, or cooperative, there will always be a hierarchy that will determine those who will be "leaders" and who will be the followers, workers, dependents, etc...

Even if they are smarter, sacrifice more, work harder, or have better ideas than a person who is above them on the socio-economic ladder due to birth, charisma, or just "being in the right place at the right time" the 75% of the human population will never get to the point that they are in a leadership position.

So the 1% like the "billionaire" in the OP - and frankly, the 5% below them who think the same way are self-delusional. They may have worked hard, sacrificed, did all the other "right things" that the various simplistic "Get Rich" playbooks out there suggest, but what it really comes down to is that they lucked into their 1% position over other people who worked just as (if not more) hard and played ethically (or not) by the same "rules".

As for the Rich Dad/Poor Dad or Married Parents/Single Parent syndrome - the other side of the 1%'s argument to pretend the poor don't work so hard and they deserve more success?
Rich Dad has the network of friends and professionals, can afford to buy a support system and invest in the resources for success that he can leverage and pass down to his kids. Poor Dad is too busy trying to survive; to keep his head above water, pay the bills and keep food on the table. Married or Single - likewise, the only benefit is the initial economic push. Again; LUCK! Not Hard Work. Not More Deserving.
In my experience, when it comes to gaging how successful a child will be, parenting doesn't really matter other than as a means for the child to quickly gain a foothold to success - they both tend to tell their kids the same things, and when they can, the good parents, rich or poor, attempt to be an active, positive part of their kids lives. The only difference is that the Rich Parent (or succession of "parents&quot can start the kid economically off on second base, whether or not they are actually involved in the raising of that child.

Haele