Unlike many of their wealthy peers, who contribute to political candidates and to established philanthropies, they are generally not politically active, and rarely support benefits for traditional causes like the arts.

As some have grown enormously rich, they are turning to philanthropy in a competition that is well beyond the means of their less wealthy peers.

It soon became impossible to ignore that there was a problem: poor students were scoring well behind their wealthier peers.

He'd heard about the so-called midnight clubs where the wealthy, jaded peers auctioned their wives and mistresses to other men for amusement.

White Mike is a drug dealer who has taken his senior year in high school off to sell marijuana to his wealthy peers.

And of course it's imperative that bright children in state schools get the same chances of getting into sought after universities as their wealthier peers.

Some point to economic and social factors, noting that poverty and the breakdown of the family put pressures on children in Harlem that their wealthier peers downtown could not even imagine.

But last year, the stock market did well enough to help some institutions with more modest endowments outperform their wealthier peers.

I have a simpler explanation: kids with less have less, including access to the same schools, health care, nutrition, after-school programs, tutors and social connections that wealthier peers have.