Rags to riches

Rags to riches (also rags-to-riches) refers to any situation in which a person rises from poverty to wealth, a form of social mobility. It is a frequent trope in fictional storytelling, where it is frequently portrayed as due to talent. The process can sometimes occur in real life, but the probability for any given person is very low, and depends chiefly on luck (e.g. winning a lottery) or inheritance.