Does anyone deserve to be rich? There is a widespread belief in a distinction between the deserving and the undeserving rich. And it goes far beyond the ancient debate over egalitarianism or socialism. Even for those who are happy to accept capitalism, and the idea that some will be richer than others, there is still a sense that some of the wealthy do not deserve their status.

This was rammed home to me after a generally positive column I wrote last year about the Mexican telecommunications magnate Carlos Slim, who had just been named the world’s richest man. He is a great investor. Yet he owes his wealth largely to the Mexican government’s decision to sell him the national telecoms monopoly without, at first, creating any competition. He went on to exploit that by levying phone bills that many regarded as excessive, particularly in a poverty-stricken developing nation.