[sidlls]

The fact that Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg aren't 5 or lower means this scale is not credible. Both of these individuals had access to substantial capital and social connections, well above any meaningful definition of "middle-class", to jumpstart their businesses.

[ameister14]

I don't think that's entirely fair - let's say your parents made $500,000 a year; if you made 90 billion, wouldn't that still be self-made? Sure, it's not as self-made as Carnegie or Rockefeller who would have been 10/10 as child-laborers turned wealthiest men in the world, but it's not exactly Trump or JP Morgan Jr., either.

[sidlls]

They're closer to Koch or Trump than anybody who labored from nothing.

Your hypothetical is why I agree a scale is better than a binary classification. I guess we might just disagree on the grade.

[ryandrake]

When your parents are among the top 1% in the country (and, presumably, act as a risk-cushion in case you were to fail), it is difficult for me to buy that you are self-made.