I think Robert Reich is more left of center than the current political party since the 90s, in an increasingly polarizing nation. Here's the quote:
There are basically 5 ways to accumulate a billion dollars in America:
1) Profiting from a monopoly
2) Insider-trading
3) Political payoffs
4) Fraud
5) Inheritance
To disprove this, one must simply enumerate the 2000 or so billionaires and determine how they each made their money; then categorize them and see if a significant percentage (say, 5%? 10%) do not fit these five criteria.
There are basically 5 ways to accumulate a billion dollars in America: 1) Profiting from a monopoly 2) Insider-trading 3) Political payoffs 4) Fraud 5) Inheritance