One thing that’s stuck me about the WFB obituaries is how much emphasis is placed the fact that he was the son of a wealthy family. Predictably, the further left one goes on the political spectrum (and the more hostile the tone) the more is made of that fact. Having moneyed parents was neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for Buckley’s success, though it no doubt helped him do things earlier in life than he otherwise might have.

But money isn’t enough: One need only think of other scions of wealthy families sometimes in the news (that hotel heiress leaps to mind) who have led lives of great wealth, intense if transient celebrity, and little consequence. If money and family connections were sufficient, then George magazine would have made a bit more of a mark on the world.