Yes someone could buy into Whale status if they were willing to invest $2.2M...if someone put that much into a platform like this, dont you think they deserve such status?
And most Whales were early adopters....few have bought in of late that I know of. Of the few I looked up, all were in mid 2016....
As for the correlation, there is absolutely a huge correlation between time on steemit and wealth AS LONG AS ONE IS ACTIVE. The entire system is based upon contribution to the ecosystem. Those who are here longer, and active, will contribute more. The newer ones have their contributions reflected in their accounts. Over time, as people maintain consistency and put the compounding nature of this blockchain to work, their accounts grow.
And the numbers are showing that. Each time I run this, the lower ranks, Red Fish and Minnows grow. While it might not be fast enough for some, it is altering the landscape (and we are still on the manual sign up system).
Reputation has nothing directly to do with wealth. As one powers down, the wealth decrease but reputation remains the same. By the same token, one with a big accoung who upsets everyone will have a low rep but huge wealth.
Of course, Dimon, if he did invest $2.2M into SP, he best get active on here to get a return. If he isnt, he should just buy that on the open market and hold STEEM. SP is meant to be used to increase the worth of the ecosystem, in turn, generating more wealth for oneself.
I am not sure how long a trend is needed to convince people...this has taken place over the last year plus that I researched it and it continues. Of course, it makes sense...get 1M active daily users on here and the Whales flopping around will be a minor ripple as compared to the tidal wave it causes now.