Why is it deeply unfair to inherit wealth? It is the main reason why people work so hard to achieve the American dream: to pass their wealth and opportunity on to the next generation.
Your premise is also incorrect, but not uncommon. Many people look at wealth as if it is a fixed state of affairs; i.e. one is 'wealthy' or 'poor' as a matter of class dictate or caste. And the fact is, unlike the peasantry and nobility of yore, wealth can be lost or gained from generation to generation (and even within one generation). Inherited wealth is a stalwart against poverty, not an impediment to it. Every person who inherits some degree of wealth, whether it's a family heirloom necklace or an apartment building, is that much less likely to be a ward to society, taking money out of the economy rather than being more productive and contributing to an ever growing pie.
In fact, wealthy people of the ilk you are talking about tend to piss their money away, which is good for the economy. The yacht industry alone employs 50k+ people as crew. These are not super wealthy people, these are the '99%' who depend on that livelihood, and are using to build their own nest egg for their own families. Do you think they would be better off being taken out of a fair labor market, with opportunities for advancement and creating new products and services, in favor of being given government handouts instead?
A peasant could ascend to the ranks of nobility, and climb the ladder, at least across generations. Likewise a nobleman could fall from grace and be stripped of status. But that doesn't make that class system any less real or oppressive.
Similarly, a Bangladeshi child sewing pants in a factory could, in the most hypothetical of senses, become a wealthy CEO, and it is possible the owner of said factory, earning in a month what the girl makes in 500 years, may lose everything he has. But it's very, very unlikely.
I know many wealthy people. And it's true that they can lose their wealth through bad decisions and unfortunate circumstances. However, nearly every wealthy person I've seen this happen to has regained most of their wealth. Why? Because once you're wealthy you have connections to other wealthy people. Their friends will build them up again. Reaching the status of "wealthy" is a sticky bit. As long as you don't alienate your other wealthy friends, you'll retain your wealthy status.
That maxim you hear is true: the first million is the hardest. After that you're set.
Your premise is also incorrect, but not uncommon. Many people look at wealth as if it is a fixed state of affairs; i.e. one is 'wealthy' or 'poor' as a matter of class dictate or caste. And the fact is, unlike the peasantry and nobility of yore, wealth can be lost or gained from generation to generation (and even within one generation). Inherited wealth is a stalwart against poverty, not an impediment to it. Every person who inherits some degree of wealth, whether it's a family heirloom necklace or an apartment building, is that much less likely to be a ward to society, taking money out of the economy rather than being more productive and contributing to an ever growing pie.
In fact, wealthy people of the ilk you are talking about tend to piss their money away, which is good for the economy. The yacht industry alone employs 50k+ people as crew. These are not super wealthy people, these are the '99%' who depend on that livelihood, and are using to build their own nest egg for their own families. Do you think they would be better off being taken out of a fair labor market, with opportunities for advancement and creating new products and services, in favor of being given government handouts instead?