For all their talent or intelligence, a person stranded on a desert island with no technology, infrastructure or labour wouldn’t be able to amass extreme wealth. Understanding that no one can claim that they fully deserve what they earn is the first step to addressing wealth inequality.

This story was first published on The Correspondent. It's the first part of our series on billionaires: https://thecorrespondent.com/712/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-self-made-billionaire/94231914128-deb38b8a

Want to support journalism that looks deeper than the headlines to show you how the world really works? The Correspondent is an online platform for unbreaking news. Set your own membership fee and join us today to get access to our full catalogue of articles and podcasts: thecorrespondent.com/join

Voice-over/producer: Eleanor Caudill

Executive producer: Jacco Prantl

If you have questions, please email: [email protected]