The Myth of the Self-Made Billionaire
There’s a myth I’d like to dispel. It’s one that has formed the bedrock of all arguments in favor of capitalism since the dawn of time. I’ll call it “The Myth of the Self-Made Human”. And it’s certainly a fairy tale of epic proportions. It begins with someone who is totally without capital (i.e. no money). Then they work hard. Really hard. REALLY, REALLY HARD. REALLY, REALLY, REALLY HARD. Got that? And because of that, because of the sheer mind-numbing hardness of the work they do, they become rich. They earned it. Every penny of it. They’re tough, rugged individuals. Islands in a ferocious sea. Everything they have today was purely the result of the sweat of their brow. Therefore, they are the only ones entitled to enjoy the benefits of wealth.
But is this actually how the accumulation of wealth works? Is indolence the only factor preventing EVERY less-than-rich person from having wealth? Or are there other factors? And are these factors so deep-rooted, so insurmountable they prevent everyone but those who’ve been given some sort of head start — either at birth or soon after — from reaching the great heights of power and wealth that only a privileged few attain.
We like to tell ourselves that we live in a free nation. A nation of capitalism. A nation where the amount of effort you put into your work is the sole factor in determining your destiny. But this idea is only true if someone can rise from rock bottom to the top without any aid or serendipity at all. So, can anyone — everyone — actually rise from rock bottom to the top? Can they?
The plain answer is — NO SHE CAN’T. This has never happened. Nothing like it has ever happened. Nothing like it will ever happen (if things aren’t changed). Granted, there are some stories floating around about how someone in a bad situation ended up in a better one because of their effort and aspiration. Credit to them for breaking the norm. But those who aren’t able to do this shouldn’t be chastised as subpar, lazy humans. They just weren’t gifted the huge mental fortitude and physiological talent needed to surmount the obstacles the rich and powerful place in their way.
Rising from the bottom should be the rule, not the exception (and these great successes — amazing as they are — still never break an outsider into the highest echelons of economic and political power). Instead, we should create an economic system where you don’t have to win the genetic lottery (i.e., get the sports or pop star get out of jail free card) or get a “small loan” from your parents to actually live a decent life. It should be an option for everyone to be at liberty to pursue life on their own terms. We already have the resources to do that. They’re just all stashed away in the wrong hands.
And what if someone did work really hard and expects billions in return? Kudos to you. Now get in line. There are many, many, many people who work hard. And guess what? Not all of them are billionaires. That’s not the only factor that allows you to pursue the rabidly individualistic accumulation of capital that our capitalistic society encourages. If hard work was all that was needed to create a billionaire, there would be many more in existence right now than there actually are (and that’s not actually something worth working towards since you need to be inspired and motivated by something else to do actually great and transformative things).
P.S. Don’t talk to me about risk either (i.e., how those who take the greatest investment risks earn the right to the greatest rewards). I know of an entrepreneur who’s flourishing business — that he’d poured all his time and money into — got destroyed by the existing corporate powerbrokers. And he faced the full terror of having the rug lining the stairway up to corporate elitism pulled out from beneath his feet. The result? HE JUST HAD TO LIVE LIKE A NORMAL PERSON FOR A FEW YEARS. In a normal sized house, working as an insurance salesman. Then his quick mind and affable personality — and whiteness, and maleness — allowed him to launch another multimillion-dollar business within a few years. Even then, he just barely achieved the very lowest, and comparably impoverished, rung of the sky-high ladder that people who’ve had an even greater head start in the world have the privileged opportunity to scale.
