Getting rich has more to do with luck than talent

[yeokiwi]

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/2017052...han-talent

In 2016 in New York, 50 millionaires wrote to the state’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, asking him to increase their taxes because they thought economic inequalities had grown too high. The group included Abigail Disney, granddaughter of Walt Disney, and Steven Rockefeller, a fourth-generation member of that very wealthy family. The offspring of the rich at least know they did not bring in their riches, let alone create them out of thin air.

In truth, no one creates wealth out of the ether as the mythic phrase “wealth creator” suggests. Most wealth is appropriated from others, not made. Wealth can grow but only when it is well shared, not corralled into the hands of a few. Wealth growth rates are highest in countries that are more equitable than their neighbours.

[Big Toe]

The playing field is fair in most capital markets.
Just that it is very much easier for the ones already with the means to make more money rather than someone starting from ground zero.

I quote an example, if you wish to open a supermarket, you have to compete against NTUC, Giant & Sheng Shiong.
Even the smallest of the big 3 is able to bid >160K monthly for a space in woodlands. So tough luck if you intend to open a mini mart or supermarket if you dont already have existing business to support it. And even if you manage to pull a good 500K to open a small to mid sized supermarket. Good luck competing with the prices. Many products wholesale prices for you is higher than what is being sold at retail prices at the large supermarkets. In the end, you may have to buy from the big supermarkets and do a slight mark up and sell it at your mini supermarket which you have invested 500K in.

Not exclusive to the supermarket scene, it is almost the same case with other businesses as well. And it gets harder and these businesses put up more barriers to entry. So it gets more difficult with higher capital requirements in the future. If one is a small player, start now, lose some money, have a very sound strategy, do thy very best and maybe there is a slim chance. Most start ups are mainly delusional when they wish to compete against the bigger guys in the same market, the very rare few will succeed.