big got big play, small got small play! don't believe that anyone who continuously works hard and smart will remain to be poor, 50% destiny, 40%you and of course 10% luck... anyway, wish you a prosperous new year!
Nup.
90% - family
5% - you
5% - luck
Just about every rich person I know has wealthy parents. The easiest way to make money is to start with money.
very true, the rich gets richer and well, the poor gets poorer... News report recently highlighted Oxfam International's findings with excerpt below:
"Among the report's many shocking statistics about wealth and inequality: the world’s wealthiest 1 percent have $110 trillion in assets, 65 times the wealth of the poorest 50 percent of the world's population. The richest 85 people in the world have as much wealth as the bottom 50 percent, according to the report."
Well, if you believe in reincarnation, pray hard that you head into a rich family next round... as for me, I will end it with either heaven or hell... 
Sadly, I tend to agree with Jason and notmanic.
The world is now far too small, too populated and too competitive for an ordinary Joe to strike it rich all on his own. To get rich in the 21st century, you'll need any one or all of the following:
(1) a 1st class education from one of the top but usually very, very expensive elite universities at which you form your future network of equally rich and influential friends to expand your wealth,
(2) good family connection and/or wealthy friends and patrons to give you a good head-start and blow away all competition from your less wealthy peers, or
(3) being super smart and your intelligence are translated into unique goods and services which every one in this world wants. Not impossible but very rare.
Factors (1) and (2) above are more easily attainable if you are born into a wealthy family. It's a fact. Welcome to the real world. Go to china and you'll find that most of the super rich are from families of well connected government officials and their children are enrolled in the top schools in the US and in China and they receive super high salaries when they graduate and are sought after by large international investment banks and companies who wish to make use of their family business and political connections. An ordinary Joe from some distant province (or even Beijing or Shanghai) will end up looking for an ordinary and not so glamorous job in some stuffy office or factory with a salary which will make it very difficult for him to even to own his home.
