It's easy to make money when you have money and thousands of desperate poors begging for the opportunity to bhe your investment vehicle. Sam got lucky and got rich. From there it's all downhill.
Nobody would dispute the element of luck in each rich person's journey. Or that the first million is the hardest one. And yet, it does seem that the particularly ambitious, smart and hard working ones tend to get more lucky.
Also, note this quote from Paul Graham [1]:
> Within about three minutes of meeting him, I remember thinking "Ah, so this is what Bill Gates must have been like when he was 19."
Not to mention that PG still declined him, and Sam refused to leave. Sounds to me like a bit more than just your average lucky kid.
Ok, I guess Sam is one of the good ones? I'm not convinced, but my comments haven't all been specific to him anyway.
I'm sure there are ways to lean on the scales and enhance your "luck," but if you don't attribute most of anyone's success to luck you are a fool. How many potential business geniuses died of cholera in the last couple hundred years?
Also, note this quote from Paul Graham [1]:
> Within about three minutes of meeting him, I remember thinking "Ah, so this is what Bill Gates must have been like when he was 19."
Not to mention that PG still declined him, and Sam refused to leave. Sounds to me like a bit more than just your average lucky kid.
[1] http://www.paulgraham.com/mit.html