If what Ben Carson said was true Paris Hilton and Donald Trump would be broke and Jared and Ivanka Kushner would either be broke, or not as wealthy as they are now.
Paris Hilton is a high school dropout. However, she is also a mlti-millionaire and possibly a billionaire. If her last name had not been Hilton, what would have been her options and how likely would she have been to get out of poverty with those options. Lets explore Hilton's options.
As a high school drop out her immediate options would have been working fast food, or some other low wage job.
How was she going to get out of poverty working fast food. Another option would have been joining the military. After a few years in the military, if she does not get killed, she manages her money well, and she continues to get promotions, she should be able to get out of poverty. Although it seem a number of veterans have high rates of unemployment and poverty.
She could have opened a business, but where would she have gotten the money to start the business?
So, now lets look at Paris Hilton's life as a rich person. Hilton dropped out of high school and then spent years partying without having a job. Hilton, unlike most people, did not need a job in that she has rich parents and was in line to inherit an estimated $150 million. After spending years partying Hilton parlayed her fame into a reality TV gig. After the reality TV gig she then put her name on cosmetics company. Now that company is a billion dollar brand. So, what price did Hilton pay for partying and a lack of work? How many poor people could have partied their way to millions and billions of dollars?
Donald Trump also proves that rich and connected people have a hard time falling to the bottom. Donald Trump is not a smart businessman, but he still gets to use his name to make money off of hotels.
Finally, Jared and Ivanka Kushner have benefitted greatly from their parents' wealth. It is very unlikely that they would have the wealth and businesses they have if they had not been born into the families in which they were born.
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