Income mobility is actually lower in the USA than in Europe, fwiw, and most startups are founded by people from middle-class or better families. Part of the reason is that the free education is, especially in poorer areas, not great: high-school computer curricula are in a sad state. Another part of the reason is that people with a family safety net find it easier to start companies. A third is that family connections help, whether it's for "friends & family" rounds of funding, or for product introductions (see: Bill Gates).
Oh I'm sure there are difficulties in our day and age, I don't mean to trivialize it - but the idea that "people being paid $20M a year while I write code and get paid $140K a year is unfair" strikes me as ridiculous. The resource available to people in the modern time is far richer and available than any other time in history.
Sure there are a lot of hurdles, but if you want to be that executive being paid millions, you can do it - whether you're a programmer, a writer, whatever.
