It makes me wonder just how the system is built. A lot of the people who ended up successful worked hard to get to it and it wasn't just money. Sure, there are a few who had the money to go through but there are definitely more factors than just money to things.
Definitely more than money, and definitely more than right place at right time. And, probably less corruption than people think - but, that corruption exists in the form of power being able to drive change, so when profit is the goal, the power will shift to that end. It is a complex system, which is why a single point approach can never be the answer. Centralization doesn't work.