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Comment by SubuSS | Hacker News Reader

That's focusing on a small % of rich.

Even to keep among the 'rich' list assuming you inherited it all takes enormous talent because money inflates away.

There may be a bigger incidence of luck (I am not sure of this either btw - almost all the contacts you get as a rich person are very much the effect of you being rich) but unless you're well prepared to take full advantage of it, there will be no returns.

What I will concede though: Luck when you're poor might mean securing a week of food. Luck when you're a billionaire probably means the stock market goes on a 15 year bull run.

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There is zero talent involved in investing such that you beat inflation. Inflation rate hovers between 1% - 3% per year. Stock market returns hover between 5% - 10% per year for fairly conservative choices like an S&P 500 index fund.

There is nothing luckier than being born rich. Treating it as some sort of skill to remain rich is part of the dysfunction in US society where wealth is equated with virtue & character.

Right - that is moving the goal posts though: This was talking about being in the top x% of the rich. If you don't keep working at it, you will drop off that list pretty quick. It is pretty much a slippery slope when you don't know how to manage money. And there is probably a very very miniscule portion of the top 1% of rich who live on index funds. When you're that rich - these don't work the way it works for us.

I did acknowledge the luck part in being rich. I do acknowledge it is far better than being poor. But if you want to remain rich and ensure your generations remain rich, that's a ton of work.

PS - seriously rich might mean different things for us though :)

I prefer to being born smart over being born rich.

If you are rich, but not smart -- it is hard to avoid temptation to invest into risky projects. It is hard to identify people who just want to drain away your money.

"Enormous talent?". How about a good investment firm and a high paying job because your status automatically grants you a 6 figure salary. It's extremely easy to be rich and stay rich in the us of a

Since you're focusing on "normal" rich people: One of my best friends is smart but was extremely unwise when he was young.

Did a lot of drugs, didn't pay attention in uni, didn't work, didn't build the habits of a successful person. Still, he got one chance after another, and in his late 20s he actually did. From what he told me, realizing how insanely privileged he is was one of the major influences for him to change.

But still, a normal person would have been long out of chances at that point, and would fight serious debt and worklessness without any support.

You maybe cannot afford to be a total wanker forever as a rich person, but you certainly have a lot more leeway in your wankiness.

I definitely agree - luck runs out faster than money when you're poor. Or the chances will be to secure basics rather than your future.

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