[quote=CA renter]Wealth and hard work/productivity are not directly correlated, IMHO.[/quote]

I will agree that they are not PERFECTLY correlated. I might also agree that they are not DIRECTLY correlated (or is that a distinction without a difference?). However, will you at least acknowledge that in a large population wealth and hard work/productivity are GENERALLY correlated? That is if you were to run a regression of hard work/productivity units (independent variable) versus wealth units (dependent variable), the resulting R-squared would be at least 60% or so? (Such that wealth is in a meaningfully positive manner a function of hard work/productivity.)

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of Taleb and believe that most successful folks underestimate the role of luck in their success… but I do believe that there’s a significant positive correlation between wealth and hard work/productivity. Although certainly not nearly as positive as most would like.