On the flip side of that, taxes for the very wealthy are much higher in most European countries with a social safety net, especially when you consider the legal loopholes available to the rich in the US, so the potential payoff to successful entrepreneurs is greater.

The payoff is greater in another way too: Because our culture is generally less shameless about its love of materialistic success, the social reward is higher.

Said another way, we Americans love us a good lottery ticket, risks be damned!