I don’t take for granted that IQ predicts or explains success.
Not universally, but the statistical correlations are strong.
To be sure, I’m sure the statistical correlations between “having rich parents” and success are also quite strong, and I suspect that “Jews are good with their money” can be shown statistically as well.
you’ve got a population with a long history of strict cultural and religious indoctrination, with language and tradition well preserved for over three thousand years, and a strong will to achieve success according to the wider society they inhabit. Even for the secular Jews, (eyo) that drive to be cultured, studied, disciplined and yes, good with money, is performed by older generations and passed on to the next, at rates higher (and here I’m using anecdotal evidence) than any other population except for traditional East Asian families (and guess who’s next on the earnings ladder).
I think that’s a huge part of it as well. I wish I knew a good way to show that sort of cultural effect statistically. Are you aware of any attempts to do so? I’d love to read them.
