America has long been known as the “Land of Opportunity”. People from around the globe came to this nation in order to work hard, reap the benefits of their labor, and provide a future for themselves and their families. Even people who don’t have to emigrate to be here pursue the same dream. For a lot of families, the dream was fairly straightforward - work hard to have the ability to buy a home and send your kids to college so they can have an even better life than you did. People of every ethnicity and background did just that, and went on to lead happy, successful and fulfilling lives.

Naturally, some people were more successful than others. Speaking in broad terms, a small percentage of people rose above the expected level of success and prospered more greatly than the average person. These people flourished for countless reasons: because of an invention, a game changing idea, or because they simply invested well. In some cases it was because of something as random as hitting the lottery.

An even smaller percentage of the original small percentage went on to do exceedingly well. These are the families that have amassed a truly gargantuan net worth, and many of them have done so through the legacy of a brilliant idea or product invention. These are the families covered by the Forbe's America's Richest Families List, and they’re the families we’ll be looking at today.

Today, these are by far the richest families in America and all of them are exclusively Caucasian. Aside from that, there really aren’t too many common denominators. Their wealth comes from such diverse sources as superstores, hotels, gas stations, real estate, and even pain medicine. Among these families there are varying numbers of family members, a vast diaspora in terms of locale, and a pretty large disparity between the “least rich” and “most rich” of America’s wealthy families.

Who, When, and How

Take for example the modern powerhouse Walton family and the historically affluent Rockefeller family. The Waltons rank as the #1 richest family in America, with a listed net worth of $149 billion dollars. Their money comes from global giant WalMart, which has become the world’s largest retailer of pretty much everything. Despite having come under fire for various global labor practices, their brand continues to be the biggest juggernaut in retail. Through methods some might call “ruthless”, WalMart (and the Waltons by proxy) has been able to offer lower prices than most smaller competing stores, and consequently those stores have closed.

The Waltons reside primarily in Arkansas and share that wealth among 6 family members.

In contrast, the Rockefellers made their fortune in the 1800’s by owning what can only be described as the entirety of the oil industry. Rockefeller oil helped power the massive construction efforts of the 20’s and 30’s, as well as being an integral part of the Allied war effort during the 40’s. Their company came under fire almost directly from President Theodore Roosevelt, who broke up the oil monopoly owned by the Rockefellers in the early 1900’s.

The Rockefellers reside in New York City and split their $11 billion net worth between an estimated 200 people.

That’s a drastic difference in both combined and individual net worth, and is made even more drastic when you consider the Waltons acquired their fortune relatively recently and have come under fire much more recently. But that contrast looks pretty even when you compare either of these families to the average American family.

Old Money vs. the Average American Family

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average American family earned $53,657 in 2014 (the last year for which stats are currently available) and contained 2.54 people. This means that the average family earns less than one hundredth of one percent of the Walton's wealth every year. They similarly earn less than one tenth of one percent of the Rockefeller’s wealth. Some people call this disparity unfair, and perhaps that’s true. But regardless of whether or not it’s fair, it’s an undeniably real contrast of the ultra-rich against the average American.

For me, the most enlightening result of this contrast is the realization that it was indeed because of the average American family that these families attained such wealth. After all, most Americans shop at Wal Mart for at least some of their needs, and many shop there exclusively. That plays a big part in the success of the Waltons. Similarly, the American appetite for oil has remained insatiable since the invention of the motorcar, which has of course led to the continuing success of the Rockefeller oil family. While not exactly ground breaking research, it did strike me as profound in the moment.

While most Americans will never attain the wealth these families have, keep in mind that it was pretty unlikely that they’d be successful as well. The patriarchs of these families faced many of the same challenges we as Americans face today, and they were mere humans. What set them apart was a great idea, drive, and motivation mixed with a huge dose of luck and a good team of employees.

So if you think the chips are stacked too high against you, consider the cases of Sam Walton and John D Rockefeller. The chips were stacked pretty high against them too - until they went all in and won every chip at the table.