As I grew up in a wealthy family, and as I went to an exclusive (very expensive) private school, and as I mixed with very rich people for much of my early life, I think I do actually know how they became rich. They inherited their wealth.

Bill Gates learnt to program at the private school which he attended in 1968. I don’t know of any schools that had computers in 1968.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates#Early_life

So his early privilege gave him the skills. His mother was friends with a member of the board at IBM and that’s how he got the gig at IBM which led to Windows.

If you’d bother to educate yourself and read the science and the books (like Capital in the 21st century), you might learn that you are the one who actually has no idea.

Clearly, I follow the science while you follow the propaganda.

Georgetown study: 'To succeed in America, it's better to be born rich than smart'

Thomas Piketty's Capital: everything you need to know about the surprise bestseller

Money is better than intellect for predicting who will succeed in life

Harder for Americans to Rise From Lower Rungs (Published 2012)

'The Great Gatsby Curve': Why It's So Hard for the Poor to Get Ahead

The 'American Dream' of upward mobility is broken. Look at the numbers | Mark R Rank and Lawrence M…

I suggest you start reading the research and stop believing the propaganda from the American 50s. This is the 21st century.