The book discusses people at the extreme ends of society, and what events lead to that position. He makes the point that luck and timing are far more important than skills and knowledge.
It was an interesting read and the author makes some good points. But I suspect he is cherry-picking his data. Some of his assumptions didn’t seem reasonable, although the arguments ultimately didn’t rely heavily on them. however, it makes we want to see some raw data.
I think he goes to an excess in denying personal ability and interest in the drive toward success. But he drives a good point home that they can’t be all important as we are lead to believe.