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HN's startups would be a good group to study for this.

If Gary Kildall been at work when IBM called, we'd all be running CP/M.

Are you successful because of your own efforts or was it mostly luck? How much does each component (luck, skill) contribute to your success?

If your success is based even somewhat on luck, then is society entitled to take (through inheritance and income taxes) some of your gained wealth and redistribute it? Why (not)?

Should lotteries be abolished because they reflect pure luck only? Should the government confiscate all but a bit of the earnings? (I know, they already do, but let's argue the justification!)

This should initiate a long discussion here, with vociferous objections from the "I did it all myself - it wasn't luck!" crowd of entrepreneurs. Somewhat in opposition, the article also ties (but only somewhat) into Obama's "You didn't build that..." oratory:

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/06/study-shows-oba...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_didn't_build_that

Also relevant reading is

"The luck factor: fortune’s role in our lives" By Jonathan Derbyshire

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3b73bf58-079f-11e6-9b51-0fb5e65703...

Google cached copy at http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:CxippMy...

Of course, Nicholas Taleb's "Fooled By Randomness" awaits you.

I'd also recommend "Lucky Or Smart?" from Bo Peabody, who built Tripod in the mid 90s, one of the early successful web startups of the 90s.

https://www.amazon.com/Lucky-Smart-Fifty-First-Time-Entrepre...