How to Get Rich in Mexico

The Mexican dream exists—but it is narrow, selective, and generally involves only two paths.

In Mexico, most of the rich were born that way. Inheritance, not innovation, remains the dominant route to wealth.

But what about the exceptions? What about those who did not start life in the upper classes and still managed to break into the top 5% of earners?

I analyzed the new social mobility survey of Espinosa Yglesias Centre, a think-tank in Mexico City, to understand the paths followed by the small subset of Mexicans who climbed the income ladder.

Their stories are revealing, not because they are typical, but precisely because they are so rare.