Of the top 10 wealthiest people in the world this year, all 8 Americans are completely self-made. Outstanding evidence of America being a meritocracy if you ask me.
How do you define self made? Is having parents and friends/family with sufficient resources such that you can experiment and try and fail and fail and fail until you succeed without worrying about ending up homeless "self made"? Or even parents who are fluent in the happenings of the world and can direct you to the right direction to minimize the chances you are wasting your time?