The richest families in Florence in 1427 are still the richest (2016)

Re:The richest families in Florence in 1427 are still the ri... by geezerjay on Thursday January 10, 2019 @08:03AM (#18873502)

> Steve Jobs' family had a nice middle-class life

According to the original argument, that directly contradicts the assertion that only highly priviledged people linked to the elite are able to succeed.

Unless the goalpost is moved further away to the point that middle class is now part of the elite, it's quite clear the original argument doesn't hold water.

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Re:The richest families in Florence in 1427 are still the ri... by matwood on Thursday January 10, 2019 @08:20AM (#18873594)

Exactly. There is a jealous undercurrent on HN about success. Usually it is around so and so started rich and/or was just lucky.

Is some luck involved? Sure. It also helps greatly to not have to worry where their next meal is coming from, but that is very different than having to start in the elite.

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Re:The richest families in Florence in 1427 are still the ri... by achillesheels on Thursday January 10, 2019 @10:52AM (#18874688)

There is a severe discount of what can be best coined “courage” by Aristotle, the balance between brashness and fear, when it comes to startups from people who don’t exercise it. Everything looks so predictable in hindsight that the virtuous quality of taking a chance is voided because someone started life eating better baby food. It’s plain ignorant.

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Re:The richest families in Florence in 1427 are still the ri... by awad on Thursday January 10, 2019 @03:01PM (#18877493)

Saw this on the Jackie Chan thread yesterday: "It's surprising how much luckier people who prepare are."

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