Mitt Romney is a great example of the famous saying that a financial genius is a guy with no self restraint in a rising market. Using family political influence and inherited money just like GWB he became famous. Still a weak sister who needs to get back on the squash courts with his prep school chums.
Didn’t someone else running for the presidency inherit a lot of money and use his father’s reputation to get started?
Well, no. Romney started BCG, bet on the right (small) companies, and managed it all brilliantly and with self-discipline. People with powerful friends and inherited money, but no ability or self-discipline, don't make fortunes. They tend to spend unwisely, don't know where to focus, and lose their shirts.
Accept reality. Romney was an uninspiring public speaker and a weak Presidential candidate, but just because his folks were rich doesn't mean he didn't earn every dime. Not every businessman understands politics or the culture. During the early days, I knew people who worked for him. In that, he was the real deal.
Similarly, people who try to explain away Trump's success in the transformation of several major cities--such as New York--are also kidding themselves. Then they seem to gloss over his top-rated TV career of more than a decade without comment, as if that kind of thing happened randomly.
There are people of massive ability in this world. Romney, Trump, and GW Bush all qualify, and it means little that their families staked them at the start. It means they came from smart families.
Unfortunately, it doesn't necessarily translate into long-term political success. On Trump, we'll see.