Everyone loves the inspirational story of the Self-Made Man or Woman whose rise to power and wealth from humble beginnings is through their own efforts.

But what happens when that turns out not to really be the case?

While some people pretend to have come from a privileged background due to shame over their middle or lower class roots, there are those of a richer background who do the opposite. The Self-Made Lie is when someone who is known for having fought their way to the top and earned their wealth, power and position in society is shown to have had advantages that were unknown to others. At the most innocent, they simply got lucky, had a leg-up that they kept secret or didn't even know about (inherited wealth, favors from a friend); at the most insidious, their success is due to exploiting others or