The Myth of the Level Playing Field

“Nobody owes you anything. Build your own wealth.”

Every South African debate about race, wealth and opportunity eventually arrives at that sentence.

There is truth in it. There is also a dangerous omission.

The argument assumes everyone began from roughly the same place, and that today’s outcomes are explained mainly by today’s effort.

That assumption is inconsistent with most of what economists know about wealth.

Three questions are routinely confused in this debate. How much of wealth inequality is explained by inheritance?

How many rich people inherited their wealth?

And how much advantage comes not from inheritance itself, but from the privileges wealth creates – good schools, professional networks, stable families, financial security, social capital?

Across advanced economies, economists comparing France, Spain, Britain and the US estimate that inheritances and gifts alone account for roughly a quarter to a third of wealth inequality.

Add family background – parents’ education, occupation and social position – and the combined contribution ranges from more than a third to almost half.