You are either seriously joking, or your ignorance is so profound, it's worrying.

1. My late father arrived in South Africa in 1936, with nothing but the clothes on his back - a refugee from the Nazis who had come to put him in Auschwitz. He couldn't just get into South Africa (which was not accepting Jews). Someone paid £200 (about $23,000 today) for him to enter.

2. He freelanced as a journalist for while. When the war broke out, he joined the Royal Air Force.. He was promoted to Lieutenant.

3. After the war, he repaired radios and continued to write freelance. He opened a small business in about 1947/48.

4. It became a very large successful business, known nationally, putting three kids through the most expensive schools in the country, etc.

Next, let's talk about my mother.

1. Born into a family so poor that they lived in adobe mud huts. I spent 6 months there in 1957. There was no electricity, no toilets, no running water, no bathroom, no phone - nothing. Water was collected in huge tins from rain and brought in to cook on a fire-stove. Candles were lit at night.

2. My mother ran away from home at 14 in 1939 and joined the army. She lied about her age. There she learnt to drive, parachute, and numerous other things.

3. After the war, she went back to finish her schooling (at age 16) and worked at various receptionist jobs.

4. She met and married my late father in 1950. She insisted on working. In her time, she ran and owned several businesses, was a philatelist, a numismatist, a racing driver, a dog breeder, went fishing, and was the first woman in several organisations.

5. My sister and her husband started a household chemical business with savings in 1993. Within a few years, they were riding high. They bought fancy cars and a good many houses. They didn't have kids, and he passed away some years ago. My sister is retired now and is very, very well off.

These are quite normal stories. They happen all over the world. In the UK, I started a business with nothing, something I was never able to do in America. America is one of the most difficult countries to be upwardly mobile.

You appear to have very little life experience outside of Israel and America. I have lived in two countries in Africa, five in Europe, two in the UK, and now Ireland. I have also lived in about 20 or 30 different cities. There are people all over the world who do what you did.

So, no, America is NOT the only country where that can be done.