<p>Thought I was semi-retired from this board but this topic is too good to pass up. The 1% selected into the elite schools (for the past few decades at least) is somewhat different from other categories of 1% such as in wealth, academic/intellectual achievements, atheletics, arts etc, members of which are almost always in the prominent positions in the society. Elite schools choose their members based on their demonstrated abilities and achievements as well as promises. This is reasonable becasue the younger you are the more likely you’d be given the “benifit of the doubt” for not being over-achieving -yet for reasons out of your control. It also means that there’s a higher likelihood that a potential “1% club member” identified by the schools could drop out of the 1% club in the vetting process. You see, there’s always new blood pumped into the 1% club and the old dropping out. That’s the only comfort we could find in this unavoidable social phenomenon, which is the so called “social mobility”. </p>
<p>The 1% club is getting more and more stablized as it moves from schools to “real world”. Just as a higher percentage of the private school students go on to the best colleges, a higher percentage of HADES students go on to ivy league colleges, a higher percentage of ivy league school graduates go to the best graduate schools and high profile jobs, the junior 1% club members have a higher chance to move on to the next level 1% club. Is the membership at a lower level club a free pass to the next level club? No. Is the next level club taking members disproportionally from the junior club? You bet. The good news is that it’s a process gradually more “achievement based” - even if you inheriting the old money, to stay in the 1% club, you need to WORK hard and smartly with the old money, otherwise they’d risk dropping out of the club. </p>
<p>To me, a dynamic 1% pool is so American that it won’t go away any time soon. The question is if the elite schools are playing a role in defining the 1%, how should they select and educate their members? To those that were born with a silver spoon, and those who “moved up”, (many of whom did not spend half a million thanks to the generous FA programs in elite schools), they should be taught early on that they have the obligations to make this world a better place with their talents and/or wealth/power.</p>