Forbes is spinning “a misleading tale of what it takes to become wealthy in America.” Most of the
Forbes 400, like Mitt Romney, have benefited from a level of privilege unknown to the vast majority of Americans.
Most of our super rich were born on third base and think they hit a triple.
Those “born on first base” — in upper-class families, with inheritances up to $1 million — make up 22 percent of the 400. On “second base,” from households wealthy enough to generate inheritances over $1 million, UFE found another 11.5 percent.
On “third base,” with inherited wealth of more than $50 million, sits 7 percent of America’s 400 richest. Last but not least, is the “born on home plate” crowd. These high-rollers, 21.25 percent of the total Forbes list, all inherited enough to “earn” their
Forbes 400 status.
Forbes, the United for a Fair Economy researchers sum up, has glamorized the myth of the “self-made man” and minimized “the many other factors that enable wealth,” including tax breaks and other government policies that help the really rich get ever richer.
