@k Brian, don't forget that the violinist didn't say getting good was simply a matter of spending time; he was saying that not spending the time was a barrier to success. I agree with you that effort won't overcome lack of talent, but that goes for entrepreneurs too - plenty of business people who spend lots of time but aren't successful. However, entrepreneurs with talent still have to put in the time and effort.

@IceDread, I agree that large companies are very good at making their financial clout work for them. However, they still can't "do as they want", since it's amazing how small a moral misjudgement they can make and suddenly be on the hitlist of a huge number of consumers, thereby effectively losing their revenue in one fell swoop. And, whilst we're discussing being fair, it's only reasonable to point out that IBM today is a totally different company to what it was in the post-war years in the same way that Germany today is entirely unlike the country that went to war. I agree that IBM should have had to account for its actions after the war, but how long does one hold a grudge? I suspect 60 years is a little long....

That notwithstanding, though, I agree there are plenty of unscrupulous ways of becoming very rich, though I'm happy that riches in themselves have little enough interest to me that I'm not tempted in any way to exploit those avenues. One does have to live with oneself even after (if?) one manages to amass the wealth.