Nothing ever stands alone and you generally need help from other people to achieve things. Her story is rags to riches -- if she can do it, literally anyone can do it. Was luck involved? Of course, to some extent. But hang out with the right people and you would be surprised at how much is possible in life. There is a reason why success often seems contagious.

On the second part: it's an effect from a capitalistic society. In fact, you can easily achieve the same returns (even higher) with lower capital. It's just that the outcome matters less: you can't live off of $100.

Have an open mind. $10m is literally one good idea away. Invested in Bitcoin in 2011? There you go. Made a great app in 2007? Maybe not $10m, but at least a few. Etc. Opportunities pop up all over the place -- most people are just not looking and too busy working a job and living life.

Literally everyone can make millions, IF that is what they desire and want to achieve in life. You just have to work towards it. Is it easy? Hell no. Should it be easy? Hell no.

Last: the elite isn't really keeping the wealth. They obviously won't just give it to you, but there are plenty of opportunities for people with good ideas but no money to team up with people who do have the money, and make something happen. And most will gladly share the gain.

In order to create a system where it's possible to become a billionaire by writing a book we also create a system where a lot of people can't become millionaires by doing essentially the same thing.

I'm speaking philosophically here, you're describing our current civilization.

* a specific subset of all people who posses the correct personal traits and opportunities.

So?

"In order to create a system where it's possible to become a billionaire by writing a book we also create a system where a lot of people can't become millionaires by doing essentially the same thing."

But they are not doing the same thing. They also write, yes, but not so good. Or maybe also good, but not what the masses wants.

And that's the other point, the masses decided to buy it - so the masses decided to make Rowling a star and rich.

Where is the problem? That not everyone can have big fame and big success? Well, that's the nature of things.

It only gets problematic if the elite use their power to bend the rules of the game, so that not those who deserve it (those who create big value) get successful and rewarded, but those of other traits ... so the game should still be fair. But I think we made progress with that. Some decades ago, it mattered much more, where you came from (nobleman) than today.

If somebody else had all the same skills and wrote another book that was just as good, there probably still wouldn't really be room for both of them. Only one series can be the pop culture youth fiction darling at a time.

Hardly, she could still be a huge success story if she split that pie of disposable income halfway with another author who was her equal- but public attention doesn't really work like that, is the problem.

But targeting whales to avoid the masses lottery, yes, I'm with you & the article there.

If it were quality, Diane Duane or many, many other skilled writers would see success.

This has the potential to paint the wrong picture as is. The wrong picture being that growth breeds connections to successful people -> breed success -> breed wealth.

Another way to view it is, connections to successful people breed growth -> breed success -> breed wealth. This way "lucky" connections only aid in developing a better product, and not in practicing unfair marketing for existing products.