Is high finance one of the fields where the most people don't achieve their dreams?

Only top 1% (or so) of graduates manage to get into IBD, top xx % of those IB analysts manage to get into a reputable PE, top xx% of those PE associates manage to get into M7, top xx% of those M7 grads manage to make VP at a good PE or other company, top xx% of those VPs manage to make MD, top xx% of those MDs manage to make CEO, top xx% of those CEOs manage to create a lasting legacy who is respected by society.

Tryna figure what other fields with such an unrealistic success rate. It's almost like dreaming to be a celebrity

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No, I wouldn’t characterize this as accurate. First of all, you need to recognize that your hierarchy of people is all wrong. Nobody who knows that many people in business would say that your run-of-the-mill MF PE associate who gets promoted and becomes partner is the very richest person that they know. That title generally belongs to heirs of great fortunes, tech startup founders, or founders of middle-market businesses, to say nothing of the billionaires who outstrip these people. As an investment banker, I know dozens of people in one sub-sector of real estate who would be wealthier than most MF PE partners.

The truth is that the probability of becoming this wildly wealthy person is not dependent on jumping through that many hoops. You’re kind of turning this into a Drake equation / Fermi paradox kind of deal on why nobody’s rich. That’s a warped way of viewing this.

The key to being rich is owning equity in high-yielding, income-producing assets over decades of time with modest leverage that can withstand multiple operating and economic cycles. That can be done in so many different ways that it isn’t worth making a big equation as you have, especially considering that the people who follow the track you endorse will almost never be the very wealthiest of people. The entrepreneurs and real estate investors probably will be.

 

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