The playing field in America has never been fair, for if you own land, especially lots of land, or land in the right area, you have by virtue of that ownership, a vital source of wealth, of which that land distribution has historically been skewed to favor some other others. In addition, those that have money and/or access to capital, have the ability to make more money and to invest such in a manner that will create additional wealth. So, definitely, the ownership of land and having money separates those that have such, from those that do not, and the passing of such lands and wealth from one generation to another, favors parties that historically have benefited from that historical legacy, such as the legacy families of white Protestants.
This then means in effect, that those that come from money and/or have the equivalency of it through the lands that they own, are in the driver's seat of using such for not only their personal benefit but also are able to make the necessary connections on a political, social, and business levels that will thereby extend their power and thereby solidified it.
However, those that don't have money or ownership of real property, can and do prosper in this country, for myriad reasons, of which the most prevalent of them all, is through their educational achievements, for right and valued knowledge will open up economic opportunities that will allow those that begin with little or nothing, to create something of value, and to thereby earn their way into having a piece of the American prosperity.
That said, sadly, the quality and even the safety of public schooling in America, is highly dependent upon the physical address of a family's residency, and those that are in the wrong school zones, for whatever reason, of which poverty is the most prevalent one, are afforded schools that often are a disgrace to the American promise of equality for all, of which, clearly this is not even close to being the case in actuality, effectively shutting the door on certain classes of students of having a fair opportunity of being successful.
Yet, democracy offers a way for those that have little or nothing, to have a real voice in this country, for our voting laws have fundamentally changed over time, so that in America's new inclusiveness age, all those that are eighteen and above, male or female, of any color or creed, are enfranchised to vote, as long as they have established residency and are a citizen. This individual vote is very vital, for the power of the vote, of which each person gets exactly one vote, determines who is or is not President, or members of our Congress, as well as State, county, or local legislatures, the Attorney General, the governor, specific ballot measures, mayors, city council members, school board members, judicial placements, and even the sheriff.
One might think, then, since the superrich are so small in number that the sheer numbers of eligible voters that have so little, would mean that real progressivism and significant social change would be on the rise in America by virtue of those without much, outvoting those that have so much. Yet, look around, and it would appear that the masses have not translated their numbers into anything of real significance, for the poor seem to be losing ground, and the elite status quo appears to be unassailable. This would indicate, that either our representatives both national and local have failed in their commitment to the people, or that the people haven't been able to successful transition their numbers into meaningful power, so that, in one way or another, the minority of the rich and powerful, still fully rule over the majority of the people, despite the fact that we have equal enfranchisement of the vote for all.