> The richest people are the most productive members of society.
Sadly disproven many times. As the old airline magazine ad copy read: you get what you negotiate. Enhanced by noting that inheritance or divorce is not productivity.
> That’s why, to better contextualize the nation’s great fortunes, in 2014 Forbes began assigning each billionaire a self-made score. The score ranges from 1 to 10, with 1 to 5 meaning an individual inherited most of his or her wealth and 6 to 10 meaning he or she built their company or established their fortune. In 1984, less than half the people on The Forbes 400 were self-made; in 2023, 70% have created their own riches.
> In all, around 30% of this year’s Forbes 400 members inherited their vast sums. That ranges from those scoring a lowly 1, who inherited all their fortune and are not actively working to increase it, to those scoring a 5, who inherited a successful business but set about turning it into a huge success.
The thing with inherited wealth is that it doesn't grow and gets dispersed. As the saying goes:
My grandfather rode a camel, my father rode a camel, I drive a Mercedes, my son drives a Land Rover, his son will drive a Land Rover, but his son will ride a camel.
The wealthiest on the margin are absolutely productive or at least good allocators
Sadly disproven many times. As the old airline magazine ad copy read: you get what you negotiate. Enhanced by noting that inheritance or divorce is not productivity.