Idolising billionaires and the world’s ultra-rich is a prominent part of the mainstream media and popular culture.

Think of the countless articles, movies, interviews and books dedicated to telling the story of the archetypal misfit university drop out-turned-tech billionaire — the Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerbergs of our world.

Emphasis is placed on the “special” character traits these billionaires seemingly possess, like “entrepreneurship”, “determination” and “leadership”. This is to convince us that if we hone our abilities then we can (maybe) become rich too. If we don’t make it, it’s because we lack the necessary dedication or personality traits.

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However, the idea that extreme wealth is a reward for talent and hard work is a myth.

Oxfam International’s report released in January, Takers not Makers: The unjust poverty and unearned wealth from colonialism, shows that most billionaire wealth (60%) is from inheritance, cronyism — rich people capturing or influencing the state for private gain — and corruption or monopoly........

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