I am more successful than my parents partly because of learning from their mistakes, partly through my own ambition and mostly though luck.
I am 25 years old I was lucky enough to get a good job last year that did not require a college degree. I was also lucky enough to be allowed to stay with my grandparents rent-free for a year. During that time I saved money and built up my credit.
Now I'm buying a very nice house at the end of this month. With no children or expensive habits like drugs, I should be able to pay this house off fairly quickly and use my money after that to begin travelling the world like I have always dreamed.
My parents still live paycheck to paycheck as things like college debt and raising small children have made my achievement impossible for my mom and a struggle for my dad.
True I could have stayed at my old waffle house job and been fine, but I wanted something more and went for it.
While I'm proud of myself for not getting pregnant while single, being in debt, doing drugs, having a drinking problem and many other things that make having a good life more difficult I understand that most of achievement is just up to the luck of the draw if I didn't live the area I live in and have the family I do then I may not be doing nearly so well.

It's easy to be rich but being richer comes with responsibilities most people don't want, work they won't do, ambition they don't have and a fear of losing what little they have.

Kissing butt is the preferred method in the US.. Sad but true.

Intelligence and skill very seldom have anything to do with it most of it is honestly luck or who you know. In fact the smarter or more skilled you are drastically lowers your chances for success being as it will make it harder to find employment since people fear being replaced. As far as income cass, i had a very wealthy family but went from riches to rags once i left home. As i got older i was able to get back to "middle class" but was never able to come close to what my parents had and never will unless i win the lottery.

I never wanted a job or a career. Well that is not really possible so being self employed is the best I could do. Went to school took my boards and started working and scheduling lots of time off. I've traveled, climbed mountains and sailed my way thru life. Stuff is just stuff. Go now or go never.

I work and earn at a level below my father. My mother did little outside the home.
In six months I earned more money than than my father did in any year of his professional career. Had I been interested in money primarily and used it as a gauge of success I could have remained there and probably earned 2 1/2 times as much in relatively short order. So I have walked the path less taken and it has made all the difference. The pursuit of money is disease. I wonder if we shall survive to get beyond it.

Last year I told my employer I was seeking other job opportunities as I needed to make more money. I was offered a raise and decided to stay. Been with this organization for 26 years. Skill holds great value in this non-profit place. However, college education immediately gets you more. I am sure after 26 years I most definitely should have jumped up in pay more than where I am; however, the benefits outweigh that, and also non-degreed factor in. I did notice though that with the raise I got and and working OT, this is the first year I OWE taxes.

Sometimes it has nothing to do with intelligence or skill. Take Trump for instance.

Let me just say it is good to have skill, and really good if you are considered by some to be the best

I did. Education pays extremely well at the higher education institutions. I've attained more education and more pay than my father, amd he was a engineer in the '50s -- '70s.

People are financially rewarded for financial skill. The richest people have this or employ people who have it. Be a genius in another field and you can stay broke, or make money and still go broke.

You can attain financial success from having common sense, not necessarily intelligence,because it is not how much money you make it is how much you spend .I see financial success as the ability to successfully manage your income ,not the amount of your income .Most people live above their means and are always broke even with high incomes .I always saved a large portion of my income and lived on much less than I made

Great question. Intelligence and skill certainly matter , but work ethic is the biggest factor. As far as barriers for upward mobility, there are several. Culture plays a role. In certain ethnicities, family and religion are more important than upward mobility, so most in those ethnicities don't achieve what we would consider success. Other barriers are expensive and unaffordable post secondary education as well as poor schools.

It is impossible to be as successful as my father. He left India as a licensed pharmacist with less than a few hundred dollars(limited by the government). He worked unpaid for 200 hours to become licensed in New York. Growing up I saw the change he accomplished. For me to affect the same scale of accomplishment I'd have to outpace Tesla and Bill Gates combined. I'm living the life he struggled to get me, so i feel bad that my ambition will never be as great as that.he took less than $300 and is worth over a million. I'd like to see a "smart and successful businessman" like Trump start from $300.

Luck, drive, passion, hard work, investment in yourself (education, philosophy, mental health) can change everything. Luck, however, is often the first factor. Trump won the inheritance lottery and my dad survived many things, but a monsoon in India, the volcanic eruption that grounded flights, the economic bubble bursting 10 years earlier, 09/11 and the uptick in racism and xenophobia are things that could have stopped everything else. So he got lucky and it's worth showing gratitude for and compassion to those who can't, but my father's story is still one about drive and passion.

Intelligence and skill yes, but I think narcissism and belligerence seem to pay off as well. I wouldn't say I've jumped across any income classes but I've crawled across a couple. We hear a lot about how hard work pays off and I believe it does but nothing comes close to guaranteeing success like being born in the right place at the right time with the right genetics.

I don'te believe that there is a definitive answer. In some cases, vision, ingenuity and persistence are key. In others it is wise use of information. Those do require intelligence and persistence.

In the case of others like Trump, the key factors are inherited wealth and advantage, and the hiring of an army of people to think and do work for you. Trump, himself does not have the wisdom, intelligence, work ethic, judgment, or backbone to anything of value.

Depends on how the intelligence is used (and often a lot of luck). My parents weren't rich and having 7 kids only made them poorer. I saw habits of theirs that were harmful to their way of life and I resolved to take charge of my earnings. Keeping track and controlling my spending was paramount. The book "Your Money or Your Life' helped a lot as did the "Voluntary Simplicity" movement. I have never made a lot of money but not having to pay for children and keeping my desires in check have made a world of difference. Old fashioned ideas like avoiding credit card charges and paying off all debts sometimes ahead of time also helped.

Yes, I am much better off than my parents and I feel I have jumped my income class.

Seriously, hard work and skill are always overcome by greed and treachery. The disparity we are currently experiencing isn't good for anyone. Just witness how these oligarchs are so full of themselves they think they are immune to climate change.

You Have to Want it.... willing to Sell your soul to the Devil. Luck plays a big part. Right Time, Right Place is Key... you being prepared for the opportunity too, of course. Desire!!!