Just as you suspected, there’s a reason inequality is structural and self-perpetuating. But you might be shocked by just how few of the most well-off individuals are able to out-earn the generation before them. It isn’t the one percent we should be focusing on, but the 0.1 percent.
Patrimonial capitalism—and the landed or urban gentry living off of inherited wealth—was dealt a mortal blow by the Great Depression and World Wars. But it's making a comeback, and the only way to stop it might be a worldwide tax on capital.