Privilege

Let's imagine a world.  It's a fairly simple world.  Everyone is given tokens every day to go to the local casino, and they can spend those tokens on the games there.  Some games pay out better if you're skilled or really smart, some pay off if you put in tremendous amounts of time, some are just pure chance.  So, the most talented and dedicated almost always do the best within their respective localities.
 
However, there are differences between these locations.  In some, the jackpots for the games are all higher.  In others, the odds are stacked in favor of the player, so most people are winners and some amass huge fortunes.  In some, the players are all given more tokens to begin with, so they have much better odds.  In others, the prices are all lower, giving players virtually infinite chances to win.  In some lucky places, two or more of these bonuses are applied.

The end result is that there are huge differences in outcomes for neighborhoods who should be statistically equal absent their local circumstances.  Within each neighborhood, the most talented and dedicated usually become the most successful, with a few others matching them through pure luck.  However, the biggest winners in the country are almost invariably determined by where somebody grew up rather than what they did while they were there.

Wouldn't that be a batshit crazy world?