Those poor kids made it in economic terms, didn't they? Butt hay, I don't want to bore you with examples like Larry Ellison or the guy that The Pursuit of Happyness was about.
Belfort and his poor kids found a way to make it - albeit illegality was involved. That doesn't discount my point that poor kids are 'advantaged' by a greater drive to succeed economically than kids of rich folks. I have tons of examples and experience.
In fact, the kids from some of the richest families have a very poor track record of personal success, economically or otherwise. Of all the people I know who came from wealthy families, a very high percentage of them have died - from suicide, alcohol, drugs, car accidents - long before they even would have been 30. Many who are still alive have marital, substance abuse, and even financial problems at a quite high frequency compared to the general population.
One of the biggest 'disadvantages' is to be a trust fund kid and know it. Those sloths generally have zero ambition. They know they don't have to work, so they don't. You can find a ton of them at South Beach, wandering about with a drink in their hand - at 10AM. Gosh, I've seen so many kids from my 'rich' friends and clients go that way.
Another huge 'disadvantage' is to be the son of a very successful, self-made father. A very small fraction of these kids are driven to match or beat their dad's success (it's possibly the Oedipal drive), butt most - the majority - are intimidated by that challenge and simply give up. Because of this, I made and make a very concerted effort to live way below my means. My son grew up nott as a 'rich kid' - and knowing the value of money and the lack of value of money. He knows that possessions are of little importance in the big scheme of life and he has become very much a minimalist. I made sure that he always believed he was able to overmatch me in many academic areas, butt still making it hard enough that he can never be sure of success (however measured) so he is motivated and his self-confidence is high butt nott so high as to be overconfident. The key in anything - business, academics, law, etc. is to always be hungry for better - to use Arnold's phrase, you have to "Get Hungry".
IMO, hunger for success, however defined, is the key factor in obtaining success - nott economic background, parents' education level, or any of the hooey that the coneheads who think smoking causes divorce think are relevant based on some charts and social 'science'.
AI
