Einstein wasn't rich because he gave all his Nobel prize money to his ex wife.
"The team shows this by ranking individuals according to the number of lucky and unlucky events they experience throughout their 40-year careers."
Good luck empirically validating that extremely vague metric.
If you look at IQ tests, they're many times better than parental SES for predicting future income.
bell_curve_iq_ses_poverty.jpg
Here's average income by IQ:
avg_income_by_iq.jpg
Here's average IQ by income:
iq_by_household_income.jpg
Here's the time series. The shift from a manufacturing economy to an information economy widened gaps between cognitive classes. Mental productivity is vastly more unequal than brute strength. 1 Isaac Newton will invent more value than 1000 Dan Quayles, but one Arnold Schwarzenegger can't manufacture more stuff than 10 old ladies.
avg_income_by_iq_over_time.jpg
Personality traits also affect income:
personality_income.jpg
It's far from random.
OK, explain this then--
When I got divorced, we split ~7 figure community property, and I had to pay substantial alimony for a decade or so. I was a dumbass for marrying her, and she was smart for marrying me. My BR is now larger now than before the marriage, and she is broke. The dumbass got money, the smart one is broke.
Bookmarks