the vast majority of rich people are not well-connected enough to drive any business your way. if you have a tech startup do you really care that you hired the son or daughter of a car dealership magnate from the other side of the country?

in the USA it's possible and in fact more common to become a very wealthy without becoming hugely influential.

they may be well-connected in their particular geographic region or within a certain business sector, but this would be a specific advantage which usually wouldn't benefit your business.

this may be different in some other countries, where nearly everyone wealthy is part of the same national elite group.

but generally, in America, you'd be better off hiring the better employee.

The tech world is filled with wealthy people not wanting to believe that their wealth was a determining factor in their success. Having the social and financial stability to found a company and get money to hire people is the kind of thing that takes a degree of wealth and tends to attract people with wealth and repel people without.

I don't think people consciously choose to hire the rich kid, but the pool of people to choose from will be filled with rich kids.

> if you have a tech startup do you really care that you hired the son or daughter of a car dealership magnate from the other side of the country

If their child was able to go to an expensive prestigious school across the country and then an expensive graduate school instead of needing to work, have a larger network of friends and colleagues from those experiences, and can pay for them to have better healthcare and a nicer apartment in San Francisco because you're not able to pay enough then yes. It's more likely you're going to pick them and they'll say yes to you.

Of course! That's an incredible resource. Even if they don't specifically drive business your way, having the person's ear is something that can be leveraged to great effect. You don't exactly become a car dealership magnate without knowing a thing or two about business and they can teach your startup a lot. A magnate is more likely to chum with investors who might be interested in helping your business. The list goes on and on. Unfortunately, at least statistically, the poor parents will never be able to offer the same.

American individualism may be the American identity, but individualism doesn't get you far in business. America is not unique like you are trying to suggest.

This is an enormous stretch. I highly doubt the son of the owner of Henrysburg Chevrolet in Henrysburg, Georgia is going to bring anything to the table that a startup in San Francisco needs, purely due to his dad. You have no idea if dad knows anything about business. And if he does, you have no idea if dad taught any of it to kid. And if he did, you have no idea if any of it is relevant to developing biotech software. Nobody in the company is going to care about dad's connections to the dude that runs Henrysburg Laundromat. But sure, go hire his kid because of some vague pedigree reason.

And what is it that you think this hypothetical startup actually needs? The most motivated janitor money can buy?

> You have no idea if dad knows anything about business.

A magnate that knows nothing about business? That doesn't make any sense. A magnate is literally characterized by their involvement in business. Perhaps you mean that mom could be the magnate instead of dad? There was nothing to suggest that she isn't the magnate. It was never specified.

> And if he does, you have no idea if dad taught any of it to kid.

And? You're not hiring the kid for his business acumen. You are hiring the kid for their mediocre capabilities in whatever work you need done and using them as a connection to get in touch with the magnate of the family.

A slightly better worker isn't significant like you make it out to be. In fact, even if you do find the 'magical rockstar', chances are they'll quickly move on to the next job anyway, and then you're back to dealing with mediocre. May as well design the company around mediocre from the start. Let's be real: Startups are generally not attractive places to work as compared to the alternatives the best of the best have in front of them. If the 'rockstar' really, truly, wants to live the startup life, they are going to start their own and eat your lunch in the process.

> And if he did, you have no idea if any of it is relevant to developing biotech software.

But the advice of a welfare parent is? There are no guarantees in life, but when playing the odds that is who you are choosing?

> Nobody in the company is going to care about dad's connections to the dude that runs Henrysburg Laundromat.

Except for the person who actually has to make the business a success, not just collect a paycheck and get a new job if the business fails. They don't get to sit around writing code all day. They have to actually get out there and meet people who will move things forward.

I get it, Field of Dreams is a fun concept... for a movie. But that's not how things work in the real world. Simply building it is not enough. Business is, at the end of the day, about people.